Municipal conference in Sudbury focuses on homelessness
How cities approach homelessness was a main topic of discussion at Day 2 of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities conference in Sudbury.
Greater Sudbury's presentation on homelessness at FONOM emphasized the need for collaboration among municipalities.
“We know that we are the largest urban centre in northern Ontario but there is a lot of people here representing small communities,” said Gail Spencer of the City of Greater Sudbury.”
“I think collaboration is probably even more important in their communities when you’re trying to deal with social issues like homelessness.
The presentation was attended by numerous mayors of municipalities big and small, who are all seeing the effects of homelessness in their own communities.
“It’s always nice to hear that you’re not alone,” said North Bay Mayor Peter Chirico.
“All those same problems you have in your communities are shared and working together, we can solve them.”
Temagami Mayor Dan O'Mara said homeless people in smaller centres naturally gravitate to larger communities with more services.
“In a small community like Temagami, we don’t have the capability or infrastructure to support that,” O'Mara said.
“So a lot of them will end up in places like North Bay or Sudbury or the larger centres.”
Tory Delaurier, mayor of Iroquois Falls, said all communities are feeling the pressure.
“Timmins, north of us, is seeing a lot more,” Delaurier said.
“It's 45 minutes away but it's affecting us.”
The presentation reflected on the city's strategy to close the homeless encampments at Memorial Park in 2021, the transitional housing pilot site and the Lorraine Street development.
A proposed solution set to be presented to council this month is the city's strategy to end homelessness by 2030, presented by Coun. Mike Parent last fall.
“The goal here is to stop what we're doing and look at a new way to be able to have the outcomes we want, which is reducing homelessness on our streets, helping persons who are suffering from mental health and addictions and get them into a home,” Parent said.
o Download our app to get local alerts on your device
o Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“So the ‘housing first’ approach is going to be the lead theme
FONOM will wrap up Wednesday with presentations about health care, roads and the northern immigration pilot program.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NDP wants Liberals to scrap proposed election date change that could secure pensions for many MPs
The federal New Democrats want to amend the Liberal government's electoral reform legislation to scrap the proposal to push back the vote by a week and consequently secure pensions for dozens of MPs, CTV News has learned.
Drive one of these vehicles? You may pay 37 per cent more than average insurance costs due to thefts
As the number of auto theft incidents rises in Canada, so have insurance premiums for drivers, even the ones whose vehicles aren't stolen.
Doug Ford suggests immigrants behind Jewish school shooting
Ontario Premier Doug Ford suggested immigrants are to blame for the shooting of an empty Jewish school in Toronto over the weekend, despite police saying they have little information on the suspects.
Supreme Court won't hear appeal in Montreal brainwashing experiments case
The Supreme Court of Canada will not review a Quebec ruling that bars people from suing the U.S. government in Canada over its role in notorious brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital.
Donald Trump can sue niece over NY Times article, court rules
A New York state appeals court said Donald Trump can sue his niece Mary Trump for giving the New York Times information for its Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 probe into his finances and his alleged effort to avoid taxes.
Shania Twain shares how she forgave her ex-husband's cheating: 'It's his mistake'
Shania Twain recently addressed the infidelity that rocked her marriage to Robert 'Mutt' Lange, whom she divorced in 2010 after he had an affair with her friend, Marie-Anne Thiébaud.
Teen pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of homeless man in downtown Toronto
One of eight teen girls charged in the death of a homeless man in downtown Toronto has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Princess of Wales to miss major military display next month amid cancer treatment
Catherine, Princess of Wales, will not be returning to royal duties with an appearance at the Colonel’s Review, a military parade in London in early June, as she continues her treatment for cancer.
Police arrest 19-year-old suspect after Montreal triple homicide
Police have made an arrest following a deadly street fight that ended with three people killed in Montreal's Plateau-Mont-Royal borough last week.