By Mark Kuiack
Ottawa, and the rest of the country for that matter, is a disaster area — at least according to Somerset Coun. Elisabeth Arnold.
She recently put forward a motion to follow Toronto’s lead in declaring homelessness a national disaster. On Nov. 4, council passed the resolution by a vote of 7-4.
Arnold calls it “disheartening and enraging” that at least 40 people have died on Centretown streets and surrounding areas in the past two years.
The declaration is an attempt to renew the federal and provincial governments’ commitment to social assistance and affordable permanent housing in Ottawa and other cities, which Arnold says is not nearly as strong as it used to be.
“It costs a lot more money to deal with someone who’s living in an emergency shelter than it does to have them in a stable, affordable housing unit,” says Arnold, the former director of Ottawa-Carleton Housing.
She says it’s “heart-breaking” to see people who were able to live independently 10 years ago staying in shelters today.
Paul McKechnie, president of the Union Mission for Men on Waller Street, says declaring homelessness a national disaster won’t help unless the federal government “puts some serious coin into the problem.”
McKechnie has seen an increase in Ottawa’s homeless people over the last few years, and says it’s partly because hospitals and mental institutions have tightened patient qualifications, making it more difficult to be admitted.
He has also seen a dramatic shift in the homeless demographic and has even been approached by the regional government to install basic facilities for women who have nowhere else to go.
The Mission, which is hoping to build a separate home for recovering addicts in the next few years, rarely has an empty spot in its 110-bed facility.
McKechnie says the Shepherds of Good Hope and the Salvation Army are in the same situation.
“Even with three organizations pushing themselves to the limit, we don’t have nearly enough capacity to meet what we anticipate the need will be this winter,” he says.
While Arnold agrees more shelter space is important, she says cheap permanent housing is what’s needed most.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have enough shelters, but shelters aren’t the solution,” Arnold says. “Shelters are warehouses for homeless people.”
But some city councillors say calling homelessness a national disaster isn’t the solution either.
Mooney’s Bay Coun. Karin Howard says homelessness is a “crisis” or “critical situation,” but not a disaster.
She adds there’s a danger Ottawa’s city council could lose its credibility and gain a flippant reputation similar to that of Toronto’s, led by flamboyant Mayor Mel Lastman.
“I don’t want our council to appear to be flighty or to be a bunch of wing nuts.”
Coun. Stéphane Emard-Chabot, who seconded Arnold’s motion, says Ottawa has a much more pressing image problem.
“One of the big distinctions between Canada and the U.S. had always been that our downtowns were fun — people wanted to live downtown,” Emard-Chabot says. “I think we’re losing that quality of life.”
Arnold says Toronto’s declaration has already prompted the federal government to take a “baby-step in the right direction” by considering a cabinet committee on homelessness.
But she admits the only way governments can make a real difference is by supplying the dollars to provide social assistance and affordable housing for the homeless.