Is calling on the province to declare homelessness a State of Emergency the best strategy for London?

London's council is calling on the provincial government to declare a state of emergency for homelessness in the city. CTV Windsor's Daryl Newcombe has more.

London City Council wants the provincial government to cover a greater share of the cost to address the homelessness crisis, but there’s disagreement about the best strategy.

On Tuesday, Coun. Corrine Rahman put forward a motion asking the province, “To formally declare a State of Emergency in response to the community safety and humanitarian crisis created by homelessness and addiction within the province of Ontario.”

The wording mirrors a motion unanimously supported by the Ontario Big City Mayors (OBCM) on Friday.

Mayor Josh Morgan explained, “The Ontario Big City Mayors is a group of the 29 largest municipalities, and the composition of that group is quite diverse. We have people who have served as provincial leaders of three different parties who serve as mayors in our group, and everyone was unanimous in this approach.”

While the OBCM motion acknowledged new investments including HART Hubs, it declared them insufficient to address the scope of the crisis.

Municipalities covered 51.5 per cent of the $4.1 billion spent on housing and homelessness programs in Ontario in 2024, including homelessness prevention, emergency shelters, transitional housing, supportive housing, and affordable housing.

Coun. Hadleigh McAlister noted that many of those services fall within provincial responsibility.

“We are doing our part, and we need the province to come to the table with those additional resources in the areas of responsibility that are theirs,” McAlister told colleagues on the committee.

However, Coun. Susan Stevenson warned that calling on the province to declare a State of Emergency might backfire.

“We risk offending the very people that we want to help us, which is the province,” Stevenson said.

She suggested London’s current homelessness strategies are not fully-aligned with the province’s focus on treatment and recovery.

“I think we should take their advice. I think we should move in the direction that they want us to move,” she added.

Council voted 10-2, (Stevenson and Jerry Pribil opposed) to endorse the motion seeking the declaration of a State of Emergency.