KAWARTHA LAKES-According to the Association of Municipalities,in 2022, municipalities spent $3.3 billion on healthcare but only received $1.8 billion in grants from the province even though its a provincial responsibility.
Representing 230 municipalities and over 2.6 million people across Ontario, the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus, and Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus join the call to action around the ‘Solve the Crisis’ Campaign, led by the Ontario Big City Mayors.
“This is something we (the Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus) have been pursuing, over the last year: the need for substantial investment by both the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada, to deal with this unprecedented humanitarian crisis that all municipalities are now facing.” said EOMC Chair, Jeff Leal, Mayor of the City of Peterborough.
During their joint meeting at the start of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) 125th Conference this week, the three caucuses stated their collective support around the need for the Ontario and Federal Governments to take immediate and targeted action to help solve the crisis around homelessness and mental health.
Experts say a homelessness and mental health crisis is happening on streets across our communities, small and big, rural and urban. Municipalities say they do not have the tools, expertise or capacity to fully address the intersectional and complex issues around housing, homelessness, health care, and social services.
Municipalities say they continue to struggle with the rising number of homeless encampments and the human toll of the opioid crisis. The WOWC, EOMC, and EOWC will be sending a letter to Premier Ford to further underscore the need for a Social and Economic Prosperity Review. Organizations and Ontarians can join the call to support the ‘Solve the Crisis’ campaign by visiting www.solvethecrisis.ca.
Kawartha Lakes Mayor Doug Elmslie, Councillors Tracy Richardson and Pat Warren and CAO Ron Taylor are attending the AMO Conference to advocate for local priorities. During the conference, a joint delegation with the County of Haliburton took place August 20 with the Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, the Hon. Michael Tibollo. The delegation was attended by Mayor Elmslie, CAO Ron Taylor, Liz Danielson, Warden, County of Haliburton and CAO Gary Dyke. It focused on a new integrated funding approach that allows municipalities to be designated Health Service Providers and allowed to enter into service accountability agreements to access critical mental health and addiction funding directly.
“By integrating these services, we would create a truly multidisciplinary team dedicated to supporting our most vulnerable community members. This ensures the right level of care is provided at the right time, by the right provider, and at the right cost. We’ve already seen success through the Community Paramedicine program and the recent Community Outreach Service. This new approach promises better health, better care, and better value for our citizens,” commented Mayor Elmslie.
A second delegation with the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health, Honourable Sylvia Jones, was attended by Mayor Elmslie and CAO Taylor. The discussion focused on further provincial support for primary and local health care services.
