Critics blast Ontario's homeless report FWD
Tom Boland (wgcp@earthlink.net)
Sun, 11 Oct 1998 20:37:22 -0400
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http://www.canoe.ca/OntQueTicker/CANOE-wire.Homeless-Report.html
FWD CNews [Canada] - October 9, 1998
CRITICS BLAST ONTARIO'S HOMELESS REPORT
TORONTO (CP) -- Critics blasted a new Ontario government report on the
homeless Friday, saying it denigrates street people and will do little to
combat a rapidly worsening problem.
"It's really hard to control your rage," fumed Jack Layton, the Toronto
councillor spearheading the city's fight against homelessness.
"To put it bluntly, I think the report will be responsible for more
homeless deaths in Toronto because it is predicated on inaction by the
provincial government."
Layton accused the report's authors, a homeless task force made up of
Conservative backbenchers, of trying to blame the homeless for their own
plight.
"I have never seen such a litany of attacks on the most vulnerable people
in our city," he said.
Some anti-poverty advocates are calling on governments to declare the
homeless problem in Ontario cities a national disaster.
Municipal officials say Toronto currently has an estimated 4,700 homeless
people, with about 500 sleeping outside overnight.
The report describes the problem in less dramatic terms.
It says Ontarians are concerned about homelessness because of its effect on
community life, public safety and business.
It blames the phenomenon on personal or family problems ranging from failed
relationships to abuse and poor work skills.
"Some homeless people have made choices, such as alcohol or drugs, that led
to the street," said the study.
"Others are there because of circumstances beyond their control, as in the
case of people with mental illness and the children of homeless parents."
The report outlines how the government should spend an extra $4 million it
had promised to give municipalities in January.
It also recommends municipalities be allowed to use emergency hostel
funding on creative means for keeping people off the street.
And it suggests further encouraging the private sector to build more housing.
"Current responses to homelessness rely too much on crisis intervention and
emergency services," said task force head Jack Carroll.
"Greater emphasis should be given to the early identification and
prevention of homelessness."
Social Services Minister Janet Ecker said the province would act
immediately on the recommendations.
But critics said the report glaringly overlooks the biggest cause of the
phenomenon -- the lack of affordable housing.
The Conservatives are part of the problem because they cancelled all new
public housing projects, loosened rent controls, and slashed welfare rates
by 22 per cent after coming to power in June 1995, said Layton.
And their plan to encourage the private sector to build more rental housing
shows no signs of producing results any time soon, said NDP housing critic
Rosario Marchese.
"It's woefully inadequate," he said of the report.
END FORWARD
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
ARCHIVES <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html> read posts to HPN
TO JOIN <http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <wgcp@earthlink.net>
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FWD CNews [Canada] - October 9, 1998
<paraindent><param>right,left</param>CRITICS BLAST ONTARIO'S HOMELESS
REPORT
</paraindent>
TORONTO (CP) -- Critics blasted a new Ontario government report on the
homeless Friday, saying it denigrates street people and will do little
to combat a rapidly worsening problem.
"It's really hard to control your rage," fumed Jack Layton, the Toronto
councillor spearheading the city's fight against homelessness.
"To put it bluntly, I think the report will be responsible for more
homeless deaths in Toronto because it is predicated on inaction by the
provincial government."
Layton accused the report's authors, a homeless task force made up of
Conservative backbenchers, of trying to blame the homeless for their
own plight.
"I have never seen such a litany of attacks on the most vulnerable
people in our city," he said.
Some anti-poverty advocates are calling on governments to declare the
homeless problem in Ontario cities a national disaster.
Municipal officials say Toronto currently has an estimated 4,700
homeless people, with about 500 sleeping outside overnight.
The report describes the problem in less dramatic terms.
It says Ontarians are concerned about homelessness because of its
effect on community life, public safety and business.
It blames the phenomenon on personal or family problems ranging from
failed relationships to abuse and poor work skills.
"Some homeless people have made choices, such as alcohol or drugs, that
led to the street," said the study.
"Others are there because of circumstances beyond their control, as in
the case of people with mental illness and the children of homeless
parents."
The report outlines how the government should spend an extra $4 million
it had promised to give municipalities in January.
It also recommends municipalities be allowed to use emergency hostel
funding on creative means for keeping people off the street.
And it suggests further encouraging the private sector to build more
housing.
"Current responses to homelessness rely too much on crisis intervention
and emergency services," said task force head Jack Carroll.
"Greater emphasis should be given to the early identification and
prevention of homelessness."
Social Services Minister Janet Ecker said the province would act
immediately on the recommendations.
But critics said the report glaringly overlooks the biggest cause of
the phenomenon -- the lack of affordable housing.
The Conservatives are part of the problem because they cancelled all
new public housing projects, loosened rent controls, and slashed
welfare rates by 22 per cent after coming to power in June 1995, said
Layton.
And their plan to encourage the private sector to build more rental
housing shows no signs of producing results any time soon, said NDP
housing critic Rosario Marchese.
"It's woefully inadequate," he said of the report.
END FORWARD
** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. **
HOMELESS PEOPLE'S NETWORK <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/> Home Page
ARCHIVES <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/archives.html> read posts to HPN
TO JOIN <<http://aspin.asu.edu/hpn/join.html> or email Tom <<wgcp@earthlink.net>
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