Northern municipal conference in Sudbury focused on homelessness, housing

Homelessness and housing are two of the big topics being discussed at the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities conference in Sudbury this week.

The 63rd annual event takes place at the Holiday Inn, where northern Ontario mayors, councillors and senior staff will take in workshops and information sessions on such topics as power generation and transmission and safety on northern highways.

“Regardless of how big or small a municipality (is), homelessness is not a big-city problem – it’s everybody’s problem,” said FONOM president Danny Whalen.

“We’re all facing homelessness, mental health and addictions infrastructure, funding shortfalls. So the opportunity here is to sit at a roundtable with people who are in the same situation as you and share ideas.”

Participants spent Monday afternoon hearing from six provincial cabinet ministers, including a presentation from the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Michael Tibollo.

“It’s great to be here to listen to what’s happening (and) also to share some of the information,” Tibollo said.

“We need to do more, especially in my area of mental (health) and addictions.”

He said more than half of funding recently announced for addiction recovery went to northern Ontario “because we recognize that more needs to be done in the north.”

Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre said he was proud to host FONOM this year.

“The conference theme – Unlocking the North’s Potential – is one that resonates deeply with the goals and aspirations of our municipality,” Lefebvre said.

“This conference plays a pivotal role in addressing challenges and seizing opportunities in our region, and is an excellent opportunity to learn from each other, exchange ideas and explore innovative solutions.”

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Tuesday’s agenda includes a presentation on Greater Sudbury’s approach to addressing homelessness, an update from the Northern Ontario School of Medicine and a fireside chat featuring Gimma Craig Nootchtai of Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Chief Larry Roque from Wahnapitae First Nation and Lefebvre.

For more information on the 2024 FONOM conference, click here.