PATTISON’S POINT / OPINION

By Ian Pattison

A FIRM commitment up front is often how municipalities secure senior government funding for projects too expensive for local taxpayers. So it was essential that Thunder Bay city council this week firmly refused to abandon a homeless shelter village that has been plagued by indecision on location, but that nevertheless must be built to signal the city is serious about tackling its chronic shortage of emergency housing.

After months of trying unsuccessfully to find an acceptable location for the shelter, Coun. Rajni Agarwal wanted to abandon the concept and instead apply for what she said is a potential $60 million from the federal government to build permanent housing rather than using the $2.8 million the province has committed for a temporary

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