A member of the NDP is calling on the Ford government to declare homelessness in the province a state of emergency.
Poverty and Homelessness critic Rima Berns-McGown recently demanded immediate action to properly fund shelters, along with transitional, supportive, and rent-geared-to-income housing for people in need.
She called it a crisis playing out in several communities, including Sioux Lookout and Kenora. Berns-McGown said people have nowhere to turn, resulting in preventable deaths.
“We need a new understanding of poverty and homelessness that stops blaming the victims of bad government policy and that supports Ontarians to live full lives in safe, dignified housing,” said Berns-McGown.
She also asked the government to build affordable housing and remove the cap on the number of overdose prevention sites.
