The federal government says it can’t wait any longer for Ontario to end encampments in its cities and will offer money directly to municipalities, including Toronto, to fix the problem.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Housing Minister Sean Fraser said he sent a letter to every province and territory on Sept. 18 asking them to partner with Ottawa to “urgently” find shelter for the unhoused or those living in tents.
The offer includes a total of $250 million in funding in exchange for matching contributions by the provinces and territories.
However, Fraser said since the offer was made, the feds have not heard back from Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.
Can we…please just build housing directly? Just, like, build it? Not bribe billionaires, not offer P3 partnerships, just employ people, move dirt and hammer things together?
I’m glad to see this, and as someone who’s lived next to a park in a downtown where people are tenting (which, let’s be honest, has become a nexus of drug dealing, fencing and low-grade violence), this can’t come soon enough.