Windsor's mayor is hoping the city can get 'a piece of the pie' as Ontario's Premier announces bill aimed at ending encampments.
Drew Dilkens was in Toronto when Doug Ford made the announcement on Thursday that his government will introduce legislation to help municipalities clear homeless encampments that will include stronger trespass laws and fines or jail time for illegal drug use in public.
Ford also announced an additional $75-million toward homelessness prevention programs.
The legislation will also allow police and provincial officers to ticket or arrest people using illegal drugs in public, with penalties of up to $10,000 or six months in jail.
In November, more than a dozen mayors signed a letter asking Ford for tougher laws, including Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, and asking him to consider using the notwithstanding clause as cities struggle with how to handle growing encampments.
Dilkens says there's some important supports in this legislation.
"All the mayors who were there are really hoping we see a piece of the pie to help improve the situation. This is about compassionate moves, trying to help people who need a place to go whether it's a shelter system, need to get into treatment and recovery. It's all about finding those pathways, and working together to get them out of the encampments, and into the help that they need."
He says things like the Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) hubs to replace safe consumption sites is critical.
"Also in first quarter of 2025 you're going to see the execution of the implementation of the HART funding by the province. And so we hope to be able to have pathways with places like Brentwood and the House of Sophrosyne that would see funding flow to those organizations to open up more beds and capacity to help people who are seeking treatment and recovery."
Dilkens says in terms of the potential fines and jail time, there has to be incentive to follow the law.
"There has to be a barrier, there has to be some disincentive, or I should say some incentive to follow the law. People just can't go setting up encampments wherever they want because they don't want to go to a shelter space. The idea here is to get people into treatment, into recovery, into housing to get them the supports that they need, but also to make sure that the community feels safe."
It is unclear when these measures would take effect, as the Ontario legislature has now risen for winter break and isn't expected to return until the beginning of March 2025.
Invoking the rarely used notwithstanding clause, or Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, would prevent a court from stepping in.
Ford said last week that he does not expect to use the notwithstanding clause, but he will if necessary.
Municipalities have been told that unless they have available space in the shelter system, an encampment must remain in place.