Ontario might not need to pass major encampments bill, housing minister says

As funds begin to flow to local municipalities around Ontario to clear encampments, the housing minister has admitted he may not need to pass an already-tabled bill that was supposed to deal with the issue.

In mid-December, the Ford government proposed a new homelessness law designed to clear encampments from parks across the province and to give police new tools to handle public drug use and repeat trespassing.

The bill was announced at a choreographed event where 16 mayors promoted the approach and explained how it would allow them to tackle the growing issue of homeless encampments.

The proposed law was held up by the government as a solution to the growing issue of homeless encampments in downtowns and parks around Ontario.

Housing Minister Paul Calandra, however, now says encampments might be dealt with without needing to pass the planned bill into law at all.

“I’m excited that we might not necessarily need to pass legislation because I think what we’re seeing is the municipalities stepping up,” Calandra told Global News during the Rural Municipalities of Ontario conference.

“Hopefully, we won’t have to pass legislation that provides more tools and that’s what this really was about: Let’s put the resources on the table, let’s make sure we get a commitment that the resources then lead to a clearing out of encampments.”

Speaking on Jan. 20, Calandra said he was “very happy” with the progress cities were making even before funding had been handed out.

“The reality is we gave them a very short timeframe, we announced this just before Christmas, we have received a number of applications, a number of pledges,” he said.

On Monday, the $75.5 million earmarked for the encampment plan started to flow.

The funding is made up of $50 million to get affordable housing projects moving, $20 million for temporary accommodations and a $5.5 million benefit top-up to move people out of shelters to create new space.

The cities of Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton all told Global News they’d applied for parts of the provincial funding package but didn’t address questions asking how much progress had been made removing encampments.

A spokesperson for the City of Ottawa said the municipality was working to keep shelter space available for those who need it.

“The City continues to maintain adequate shelter space for anyone wishing to come inside,” they said. “As such, outreach teams will continue to offer housing-focused supports to anyone choosing to remain outside including placement in the shelter system.”

Ottawa, however, said it was only allowed to apply for a portion of the provincial funding because it was already given money as part of a new deal signed last year.

The province’s municipal association recently warned Ontario’s homelessness crisis is “at a tipping point” and said more than 81,000 people experienced homelessness last year.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) said in a report that the recorded number of homeless people is ticking towards 100,000, particularly in the southern parts of the province.

That represented an increase of 51 per cent compared with the roughly 53,000 people recorded in 2016 and a 25 per cent increase since 2022.

Calandra reiterated that the funding — which does not require the legislation — will only go to municipalities that promise to clear encampments.

“I’ve been clear to my municipal friends,” he said.

“Don’t ask me for funding if it doesn’t also include clearing out and cleaning up of encampments. Those communities that haven’t pledged to do that simply won’t be getting the resources from me to provide assistance.”

The proposed encampments bill will be scrapped on Tuesday when Premier Doug Ford asks to dissolve the legislature regardless of whether or not the government ultimately decides it is needed.

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