TORONTO — The mayors of Ontario's 29 largest cities are urging the provincial government to declare a state of emergency in response to what they describe as a "community safety and humanitarian crisis" stemming from homelessness, mental health issues, and addiction. This call to action was made during a unanimous motion passed on Friday by the Ontario Big City Mayors caucus.

The mayors highlighted that municipalities have covered over 50 percent of the $4.1 billion allocated for homelessness and housing programs in 2024. Marianne Meed Ward, the mayor of Burlington and chair of the caucus, stated that the current funding model is unsustainable. "We have already dug deep," she said. "Addressing homelessness should not depend on property tax dollars. It is simply unacceptable for us as leaders in our community who care for everyone to let those people suffer on the streets."

In response, a spokesperson for the minister of municipal affairs and housing indicated that the province has made significant investments to combat homelessness. Michael Minzak noted that Ontario is allocating $75.5 million to build supportive and affordable housing and create additional shelter spaces. Furthermore, the province has provided $1.7 billion to municipalities to enhance supportive housing through the Homelessness Prevention Program. Additionally, Ontario is investing nearly $550 million to establish 28 homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs, known as HART hubs.

"Our government is taking historic action to give municipalities the tools they need and have asked for," Minzak stated.

Some of these treatment hubs replaced locations that previously offered supervised drug consumption services, which were shut down earlier this year due to a new law prohibiting such sites from being within 200 meters of schools and daycares.

Despite these efforts, the mayors contend that the funding is insufficient to adequately address the growing crisis. They referenced a report from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which calls for an investment of $11 billion over the next decade to effectively end homelessness.

“This is a growing crisis,” said Toronto Deputy Mayor Paul Ainslie. “Although we’ve seen some support from the provincial government, it’s not enough. Municipalities cannot solve this alone.”