At The Hope Centre, we stand with our community in wanting an effective and compassionate solution to encampments in Welland. After all, housing is a Human Right, and we believe that everyone should have access to safe, appropriate housing and not have to resort to living in tents in public places.
Recently City Council approved a motion to request that the Province of Ontario invoke the Notwithstanding clause. This clause gives provincial legislatures the ability, through the passage of a law, to override certain portions of the charter, including Supreme Court rulings when it comes to compassionate removal of encampments. Essentially it means that the province can introduce legislation that will criminalize our neighbours experiencing homelessness, giving cities more power to increase enforcement and dismantle encampments when residents have nowhere else to go.
However, “Encampment sweeps”, the use of enforcement, the penalty of incarceration, forced treatment—these are not only expensive and ineffective, but they are also inhumane and uncompassionate.
We stand behind our friends and allies at the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness when they say:
‘Homelessness is also housing problem—people in encampments need a housing solution. You cannot force someone into treatment that doesn’t exist, and even if it did, they would still be homeless when they leave. The only cure for homelessness is a home. Communities need to work hand-in-hand with those directly impacted to find safe, secure housing that meets their needs. Anything else is expensive and ineffective—and cruel.’
We do have some suggestions for Premier Ford that will have an impact on the state of homelessness in Welland and across the province:
- Increase social service benefits immediately, and tie them to inflation annually.
- Consider a Universal Basic Income so that all community members can afford to meet their basic needs.
- Immediately increase access and funding to mental health and addiction supports.
The City of Welland has a demonstrated track record of acting with empathy and working collaboratively with many local agencies to find a compassionate way to help with this housing crisis. The Hope Centre remains committed to working collaboratively to find a compassionate way to support our unhoused neighbours.
We encourage concerned community members to visit https://solvethecrisis.ca/ to let the Provincial Government know that there are alternative ways to solve this crisis.