On Thursday, Prince Edward County council passed a resolution calling for the provincial government to acknowledge the social, economic, and health-related seriousness of the homelessness crisis in Ontario and to commit to ending it.

The reason for the resolution came from an Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) policy position that found (among other aspects) that the homelessness crisis is a “result of the underinvestment and poor policy choices of successive provincial governments.” The position added that the complexity of the problem, which is felt most at the local government level, “requires a range of housing, social service and health solutions from government,” which are beyond the current capacity of municipal power and resources to remedy.

Coun. Roy Pennell asked a question about whether council should be sending a similar resolution to the federal government. County CAO Marcia Wallace responded that the current lobbying effort is targeting the provincial government due to its multifaceted jurisdiction over the problem, though similar efforts concerning the federal government are forthcoming:

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