SUDBURY - Facing criticism from social services providers, Mayor Paul Lefebvre sat down with Sudbury.com on Monday to further clarify his stance regarding provincial actions on homelessness.
Last week, Lefebvre joined 12 other Ontario mayors in signing an open letter at Premier Doug Ford’s request which called on the province to take various actions to address homelessness.
Sudbury.com’s initial interview request through Lefebvre’s office was responded to with a written statement on Friday. Meanwhile, local homeless advocates have since decried the letter.
Among their key points of concern was its request that the province invoke the notwithstanding clause to address the homelessness crisis if necessary. This would allow governments to supersede the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to enable such things as forced treatment.
The advocates also expressed concern regarding the request for enhanced enforcement tools against such things as trespassing and open drug use.
Réseau ACCESS Network executive director Heidi Eisenhaur argued the mayors’ requests “risk causing more harm than good.”
“Punitive measures, including arresting people for trespassing or public drug use, only push people further away from accessing help and increase the risk of overdose deaths,” she said, pointing to the Mental Health and Criminal Justice Policy Framework as evidence.
In a statement sent to Sudbury.com, Public Health Sudbury and Districts said, “When people are forced into treatment against their will, it is unlikely to succeed.”
Reiterating a key point in his written statement, Lefebvre clarified to Sudbury.com on Monday that he’s not taking the potential use of the notwithstanding clause lightly.
Having already received critical feedback from some service providers, Lefebvre told Sudbury.com that he not only understands their concerns, but agrees that some people’s interpretations of the letter’s intent would not be good for vulnerable community members.
Although invoking the notwithstanding clause carries the potential to allow municipalities to evict people from encampments even in cases where there aren’t alternative accommodations, Lefebvre clarified definitively, “That is not my intention at all.”
It’s also not his intention to stigmatize those experiencing homelessness or substance abuse issues through law-enforcement measures, but he added the status-quo isn’t working.
Lefebvre’s main motivator in signing the letter was conversations he had with people whose loved ones declined services and in some cases ended up dying on the streets.
“If the state could have intervened because my son or daughter was in such a bad state of mind, potentially they could be alive today,” Lefebvre said, relaying a story told to him.
“That really hits me,” he said. “When I hear that, that, to me, supports what we need to do and is where that comes from.”
Enough of saying, “Sorry, nothing we can do,” Lefebvre said, adding that he no longer wants service providers to say they would have done something if they could, but didn’t have the tools they needed to do so.
Forced treatment would be the exception to the rule, he said, clarifying that it wouldn’t be applied to everyone experiencing homelessness or addictions.
The people it would affect are oftentimes repeat offenders with underlying issues who refuse services and end up returning to the streets where they die.
What’s currently taking place isn’t working, Lefebvre said, noting that homelessness has been on the rise.
“Our navigators are on the front lines every day, they meet with people in encampments every day to provide them with services and offer them alternatives on a daily basis — housing alternatives and a place to go, and often they refuse,” he said, adding that some people simply don’t want to be part of the system for whatever reason.
On the point that there isn’t enough affordable housing and social supports to accommodate everyone seeking help, let alone those who refuse it, Lefebvre said that this is why the letter advocates for the province to do more.
Specifically, it asks the province to “strengthen the existing system of mandatory community-based and residential mental health care and to expand service to treat those who have severe and debilitating addictions.”
Greater Sudbury city council has similarly advocated for senior levels of government to step up their game when it comes to addressing the complex issues surrounding homelessness.
Plus, Lefebvre added, the city is doing whatever it takes to fill this service gap.
He cited a 40-unit transitional housing complex expected to open later this year, a shelter bed and warming centre expansion effort and affordable housing under construction on Pearl Street, Sparks Street and Downtown Sudbury’s Project Manitou as recent efforts.
“There are a lot of affordable projects that we’re working on, so that’s been top of mind,” Lefebvre said.
“We want to work with the province to provide these services and support them,” he said. “Our health-care system has never seen this, our emergency rooms have never seen this level of mental health services that are required and the level of drug addictions in our community.”
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
