January 9 2025 – Karen Redman, Chair of the Mayors and Regional Chairs of Ontario (MARCO), said the homelessness crisis is taking a devastating toll on people in Ontario communities.
“Our municipal staff and first responders are seeing first hand how our current responses are not working. They fail our residents experiencing homelessness, they fail our communities in looking for serious meaningful changes to keep our neighborhoods safe and healthy,” she said.
Redman added while recent provincial investments are appreciated, they are insufficient.
“These are investments our communities need and it is time for the provincial government to adopt this approach that prioritizes long-term housing solutions, so that we can solve this crisis together,” she said
Redman said she understands the price tag is high.
“The reality is we’re going to pay for it now or we’re going to pay for it later and what we need is provincial and federal, on some level, partnership to make focused investments into the gaps that we know exist because this is only going to get worse,” she said.
The group representing most of Ontario’s municipalities says the province’s homelessness crisis is at a tipping point.
More than 81,000 people were reported as homeless in 2024, which is an estimated increase of 12 per cent from 2023.
The vast majority of homeless individuals live in urban centres in southern Ontario.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) released a new report on Thursday, urging the provincial and federal governments to take significant, long-term action.
Read the article: AMO report says Ontario’s homeless population hit 80K in 2024