Queen’s Park – Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner issued the following statement in response to news that chronic homelessness in Guelph is at an all time high.
“In my community, and in communities across Ontario, people are being forced into homelessness because they just can’t keep up with the outrageous cost of living.
From removing rent control to downloading costs onto municipalities to refusing to build affordable homes, the government’s repeated failures have created this crisis.
For as long as the Premier ignores the solutions right in front of him, we will see more loss of lives, more suffering and an increased strain on our public services and local businesses.
Municipalities cannot continue to carry the burden of this alone.
I am calling on the government to urgently invest in mental health and addictions services; build deeply affordable non-profit, co-op, supportive, transitional and community housing; and take immediate action to protect renters from bad-acting landlords.
This is a moral failing by the government. Everyone in Ontario deserves a safe and affordable place to live and we will not stop fighting to make that a reality for everyone.”