Windsor city council calls on province to establish new Ministry of Homelessness

A homeless encampment in downtown Chatham. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

A majority of Windsor city councillors have endorsed a series of recommendations from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) on homelessness and addiction, while also calling on the province to create a Ministry of Homelessness to provide oversight and accountability.

The motion, introduced by Coun. Kieran McKenzie during the Feb. 10 meeting of Windsor city council, supports AMO’s position that municipalities lack the resources to address rising homelessness, encampments, and the opioid crisis without increased provincial support.

AMO’s recommendations call for greater investment in supportive housing, mental health services, and harm reduction programs, along with a more coordinated response between levels of government.

Council also backed an amendment from Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac, urging the Ontario government to establish a Ministry of Homelessness.

Gignac pointed to the Auditor General’s report on provincial homelessness programs, saying it highlighted the lack of oversight and proper data collection.

“We’re spending literally billions of dollars on an issue that is of concern to almost every municipality in Ontario,” Gignac said.

“So, it’s time to establish that ministry so that there is oversight and clear direction in terms of what we want to accomplish through the programs that you will not only have oversight over, but you’ll be funding for the most part.”

She said the current system lacks coordination, with multiple agencies working in isolation.

“You have the City of Windsor’s social services, you have police, you have health, you have registered nurses, you have a variety of organizations that provide shelter spaces,” she said.

“Let’s get somebody with the oversight capacity to be able to say, ‘this is where we’re going to direct our money,’ because they’ve provided the data. They have provided the plan that we think is going to make a real impact on the problem we’re dealing with.”

Residents and community advocates spoke in favor of the motion, describing the impact of Windsor’s growing homeless population and the challenges with shelter capacity.

Marion Overholt, former executive director of community legal aid in Windsor, said AMO’s report highlights the failure of municipalities to address the root causes of homelessness without adequate funding.

“We’ve been unable to stem the tide of people becoming unhoused because of high shelter costs,” she said.

“Encampments have become the only option for many and clearing them without alternatives just displaces people with nowhere to go.”

Bilal Nasser, a downtown resident and business owner, spoke about the impact of forced evictions.

“When we give trespass notices to homeless people in the middle of a blizzard, knowing there aren’t enough shelter beds, we are knowingly forcing people into life-threatening situations,” he said.

Law student Emily Kydd urged council to adopt AMO’s trauma-informed approach to encampments, arguing that forcibly removing people without stable alternatives violates basic human rights.

“This isn’t about whether encampments are ideal — of course they aren’t,” she said.

“But when people have no other options, clearing them out without real solutions does nothing to address homelessness and only pushes people further into crisis.”

The motion passed, despite opposition from Mayor Drew Dilkens and Coun. Mark McKenzie and Ed Sleiman, who raised concerns about AMO’s endorsement of supervised consumption sites.

“I’ve been consistent since day one that I didn’t want a safe injection site,” Dilkens said after the vote. “This report supports them, and I can’t get behind that.”

However, Kieran McKenzie argued the broader issue of homelessness and addiction requires urgent action and should not be overshadowed by a single point of contention.

“They touch on healthcare, housing, mental health, addiction, homelessness. It’s such a complex suite of issues.” said McKenzie.

“To take one component and say, ‘I’m prepared to throw all the rest of that advocacy out because I’m a little bit uncomfortable,’ would be a mistake.”