Officials in Ottawa say they will bypass provinces and deal directly with Toronto and other major cities to address the growing number of homeless people living in encampments in Canada's major urban areas.
Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser said this week that Ottawa offered $250 million to the provinces earlier this year but has gotten no response from Ontario, or from Alberta or Saskatchewan, to a September letter outlining the pledge.
"We offered millions of dollars in additional funding in exchange for partnering with us and matching our contributions," Fraser said in a statement, adding there is no longer time to waste as the weather gets colder.
He added that he is "disappointed" in Queen's Park and the other unresponsive provincial governments, suggesting Ottawa's funding package will no longer go as far to help people living in encampments as it would have if "they had come to the table."
"In these cases — along with any others who do not take quick action — we are now approaching municipalities directly to work with them, urgently," Fraser said.
Fraser said the federal government will engage five cities first "given their readiness to quickly adopt cost-matched responses": Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Regina and Saskatoon.
Asked if Ottawa had approached the city on a direct federal-municipal approach, Mayor Olivia Chow said "not yet."
"But we're ready. We are so ready," Chow told TorontoToday's Aidan Chamandy. "We need the funds to create respite centres, more shelters, maybe even some rapid housing so we can build supportive housing."
"We know that without housing and without shelter it's very difficult to get back on your feet. So we can't wait. The funds were designed in a way that it has to be matched by the province, and that's probably one of the reasons why it's stuck."
"We're wiling to engage. We're willing to put up some of our funds ... So no, we haven't been approached yet. However, maybe we will approach them to say we're ready to be your partner."
Provincial Housing Minister Paul Calandra insisted today that in fact Ontario is working with Ottawa on the issue.
“Up until today, we were under the impression that we were still working with the federal government on this matter," Calandra said. "It’s about time the federal government finally showed interest in discussing how they will match the hundreds of millions of dollars Ontario is investing to combat homelessness. I have a meeting scheduled with Minister Fraser next week, and I look forward to seeing him there.”
Calandra's office said Ontario is already investing over $700 million to homelessness prevention programs each year, $378 million to implement addiction and recovery hubs, and an additional $720 million specifically to assist the cities of Toronto and Ottawa as they cope with challenges related to immigration and refugee settlement.
"At the same time, we are highlighting to the Government of Canada its significant underfunding of housing programs in comparison to other provinces. The federal government is already underfunding Ontario by more than $400 million towards housing and homelessness programs. The current offer from the federal government further decreases funding to Ontario in comparison to other provinces."
According to Fraser, if a province or territory partners with Ottawa, they will be able to select the communities that receive funding from the federal government.
"Should they wish to forego a partnership with us, we will rely on the best available data to inform our decisions," Fraser said.