Ontario NDP pledges to end encampments, as Liberals vow to double disability payments
With tariff threats from the U.S. on pause, 2 of Ontario's opposition leaders are focusing on other issues
Ontario's NDP and Liberal leaders focused on housing and affordability issues Wednesday, with promises to end homeless encampments and provide more financial support for people with disabilities.
NDP Leader Marit Stiles listed several steps she would take to end encampments in communities across the province, calling their presence Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford's "greatest failure." But she would not say how much her plan would cost, saying only "that will all come" later.
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario has estimated that more than 80,000 people in the province were homeless last year and that $11 billion over 10 years would be required to end chronic homelessness.
Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie vowed to double payments under the Ontario Disability Support Program, which currently maxes out at $1,368 per month for a single person. She said the boost would be permanent, pegged to inflation and phased in over two years.
"It will be costed and part of the platform when we release it," she said during a campaign stop in Hamilton, adding that the pledge goes "hand-in-hand" with her key priority to find everyone in Ontario a family doctor in four years.
Shortly before Ford called the snap election for Feb. 27, his government announced it was giving municipalities up to $75.5 million to end encampments by creating more emergency shelter spaces and affordable housing units.
People are simply moving from one encampment to another, and the last-minute pot of money will not solve the problem, Stiles said in Toronto on Wednesday.
"After seven years of Doug Ford, encampments are the new normal," she said. "Seeing tents in parks is a stark reminder of how utterly Doug Ford has failed. He has failed on housing, he has failed on health care, he has failed on creating good jobs and he has failed to make life affordable."
Stiles said an NDP government would create 60,000 new supportive housing units, have the province pay for shelter costs instead of municipalities and double social assistance rates. She did not indicate how much the promises would cost.
"First of all, that will all come, but I will tell you this, we can't afford not to do this," she said.
Stiles was flanked by community worker Diana Chan McNally, who frequently comments on the struggles faced by the city's homeless people.
"I think the platform overall is right now the only one I can support," she told CBC Toronto. "I think with dollar figures attached, this will make sense."
Asked about the NDP's latest pledge, Crombie said she doesn't "make comments" on other parties' platforms but agreed that more affordable and supportive housing is needed, especially for people with addictions and mental health issues. She, too, called encampments a failure of the Ford government.
For his part, Ford said Wednesday that his focus remains on building shelters.
"We're going to make sure we get people the opportunity to get a roof over their head," he said. "The economy is what pays for this, and the opposition, they just believe in high taxes, red tape, regulations."
The government had also announced $378 million to create 19 homelessness and addiction recovery treatment hubs, with up to 375 highly supportive housing units, but Crombie called them "a drop in the bucket" compared to the huge need for such services.
With files from Sharif Hassan, Lorenda Reddekopp