Premier Doug Ford’s government is introducing new legislation that it says will give municipalities and police services legal tools to dismantle homeless encampments and crack down on public drug use with fines or jail time.
Ford announced the pending legislation at a news conference Thursday morning, the last day the legislature will sit before leaving for winter break.
“These encampments are taking over public spaces, with illegal drug use happening out in the open,” Ford said. “Enough is enough, this has to stop and it will stop.”
The province will also commit $44.5 million in new funding to expand shelter spaces and help municipalities build more affordable housing, Ford says.
The legislation will include two amendments to the existing Trespass to Property Act that the province says will stop encampments from re-emerging once they are cleared. The amendments would give courts the power to consider repeat offences and the likelihood to re-offend against the act as aggravating factors in sentencing.
Attorney General Doug Downey said the amendments would not change any of the existing penalties in the act.
The legislation would also allow police and provincial offences officers to ticket or arrest people using illegal drugs in public, with penalties of up to $10,000 or six months in jail.
The government said it is considering allowing the courts to provide rehabilitation as an alternative to incarceration for minor or non-violent drug crimes, and Ford said he is not considering involuntary treatment at this time.
Ford previously said he was willing to use the controversial legislative tool known as the notwithstanding clause to override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms “should the courts interfere” in municipalities using the new provisions.
Homelessness and encampments have risen dramatically under Ford’s term, with tent cities popping up in municipalities small and large throughout Ontario. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario says there were 1,400 encampments across the province in 2023.
Shelters throughout the province are full, with some 12,000 people in Toronto’s shelter system alone.
Opposition parties at Queen’s Park have accused Ford and his government of failing to build new housing and aiding municipalities in expanding shelter space.
More to come.