Housing was one of many important speaking factors for Thunder Bay, Ont., leaders at this 12 months’s Rural Ontario Municipal Affiliation (ROMA) convention.
The annual occasion, which happened Sunday by Tuesday in Toronto, gave municipal leaders and workers the possibility to talk with provincial representatives within the hopes of seeing motion — and funding — allotted for key points of their communities.
The convention got here on the heels of a brand new report launched by the Affiliation of Municipalities of Ontario, which discovered that greater than 81,000 folks within the province had been identified to be experiencing homelessness final 12 months.
The Metropolis of Thunder Bay has supported a human rights-based strategy to homelessness, offering help to outreach staff at homeless encampments and exploring choices for a short lived shelter village — one thing ROMA delegates sought funding for at this 12 months’s convention.
“I believe what got here out loud and clear is that Thunder Bay has developed a plan that is fully totally different than another factor that we’re seeing all through the province,” Coun. Kristen Oliver, chair of town’s intergovernmental affairs committee, advised members of the media Wednesday.
A homeless encampment is seen in Thunder Bay, Ont., on this December 2024 file photograph. Coun. Kristen Oliver says town’s human rights-based strategy to homelessness is exclusive amongst different municipalities within the province. (Sarah Legislation/CBC)
Whereas metropolis council voted in opposition to constructing the village at a website on Miles Avenue East in November following backlash from the enterprise neighborhood, workers are assessing various places.
Oliver stated delivering wraparound help on the village, in addition to encouraging coaching alternatives for individuals who dwell there, are key elements of the plan, “and that is definitely one thing that we’re not seeing from another neighborhood.”
I believe what got here out loud and clear is that Thunder Bay has developed a plan that is fully totally different than another factor that we’re seeing all through the province.- Coun. Kristen Oliver, chair of intergovernmental affairs committee
On the addictions entrance, she added that town is grateful for the province’s approval of a Homelessness and Habit Restoration Therapy (HART) Hub, which is slated to exchange Thunder Bay’s solely supervised consumption website upon its closure this spring.
“One of many issues that we actually attempt to hammer down is that we do not wish to see any gaps,” Oliver stated. “That we’re really going to be serving a inhabitants that’s in disaster and having these wraparound helps in place.”
Remediating LPH property
As for extra everlasting housing options, remediating the previous Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital (LPH) was one other topic that got here up on the ROMA convention, and one which’s been mentioned at council chambers for years.
Mayor Ken Boshcoff stated town has obtained website plans and proposals from plenty of teams because the property’s been vacant, however as a result of it is owned by the province, it is as much as the Ontario authorities to permit town to approve improvement there.
The previous Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital in Thunder Bay, Ont., is seen on this August 2024 file photograph. The constructing, which is owned by the province, has been empty for a number of years. (Kris Ketonen/CBC)
“Actually the curiosity nationally for this website and from surrounding communities of every type is fairly inspiring, and it tells you what a gem that property is,” Boshcoff stated.
Because of the age and situations of the present buildings, the property must be fully demolished, stated Oliver, however there’s a massive push to encourage multi-unit residential buildings there.
“That’s the place the province is actually focusing their development plans proper now and the place they’re investing,” she stated. “Clearly, when we now have density, [it] reduces the associated fee to municipalities to ship the providers, so we’re working on-line with what the province’s suggestions are.”
In the meantime, town can be getting help by the province’s Housing Enabling Core Service Fund to assist its housing targets.
Infrastructure, coaching, and public security
Different discussions on the convention included investing within the infrastructure wanted for brand new housing builds, in addition to filling town’s vitality hole to help its rising manufacturing sector.
There have been additionally conversations round filling key labour shortages in areas from paramedicine to the trades, and the province’s function in supporting town’s post-secondary establishments as they address the federal authorities’s caps on worldwide examine permits.
Coun. Kristen Oliver, seen on the podium, says Thunder Bay, Ont., depends closely on worldwide college students, which is why she desires to see the province help efforts to maintain their numbers up amid the federal authorities’s latest caps on worldwide examine permits. (Sarah Legislation/CBC)
“Northern Ontario is totally totally different from different components of the province, the place we’re attempting to extend our development, perhaps not sluggish it down like different communities,” Oliver stated.
As for public security, funding to deal with weapons and gangs additionally got here up, in addition to town’s lack of forensic pathology unit and the toll that takes on the Thunder Bay Police Service, which should ship officers to Toronto to journey with postmortem sufferers, stated Coun. Kasey Etreni.
“How are we going to help that financially, as a result of proper now the taxpayer is doing that,” Etreni stated. “We’ve a short lived resolution the place an area group comes right here as soon as a month for every week. When are we going to be a everlasting resolution?”
With indicators of a provincial election on the horizon, Oliver stated she left this 12 months’s convention feeling extra eager for faster outcomes from town’s advocacy efforts than in years previous.
“The extent of engagement, the conversations we had, I left these conferences in Toronto feeling extremely assured and sturdy,” she stated. “I believe we will see some motion within the very close to future.”
