By Cecilia Nasmith/Northumberland 89.7 FM/Today’s Northumberland
The housing crisis was in the spotlight at Northumberland County council’s November Social Services Committee on Wednesday morning, leading off with the committee’s support of a motion calling for a specific provincial ministry to be established to focus on this issue.
The call was part of an appeal that came to the table in the form of correspondence from Ontario’s Big City Mayors. While correspondence is usually received for information, committee member Olena Hankivsky wanted to go further and recommend county council support the motion they put forth.
“I think that’s a great idea,” committee chair John Logel agreed.
The correspondence termed this issue a Humanitarian Crisis and called on both provincial and Federal governments for action as homelessness, mental health and addiction crises grow – the letter cites 3,432 drug-related deaths and more than 1,400 homeless encampments across the province in 2023.
Recent provincial help in the form of $378-million for HART Hubs and some 375 beds with wrap-around supports has proven inadequate to the scale of the crisis, it added.
“This is primarily a health issue that falls under provincial jurisdiction, and municipalities and regions should not be using the property-tax base to fund these programs,” the motion said.
The province is called upon to make homelessness a health priority and establish a Ministry with appropriate funding and powers to address the full spectrum of the issue, including mental health, addictions and wrap-around supports.
They also call for a task force on the issue that includes the Federal government in these conversations.
Later in the same meeting, the committee recommended that county council proclaim Nov. 22 as National Housing Day. The motion includes the note that the county is working to expand its stock of social housing through both permanent units and rent subsidies, with more than 350 new units and subsidies planned over the next three years.
