Overview
Municipal governments strive to create healthy and prosperous communities, of which social services like community and supportive housing are a key component. These are essential for addressing the challenges of poverty, homelessness, the housing crisis, and mental health, and addictions which are taking a devastating toll on people and communities across Ontario.
Ontario’s municipal governments co-fund, plan and deliver social services through 47 Consolidated Municipal Service Managers (CMSMs) and District Social Service Administration Boards (DSSABs). Most also provide paramedic services including emergency response and community paramedicine. Municipalities often contribute funding above and beyond provincial subsidies to areas like long-term care, public health, social assistance, housing, homelessness and child care despite the provincial government’s responsibility for legislation, regulation, and program requirements. Long-term care and child care services provided by municipalities ensure seniors, children, and families have access to quality services, which in turn provides social and economic benefits to entire communities.
More and more, municipalities are asked to take on health and social challenges that they do not have the resources and tools to address. The results are unmet needs that hurt our communities and Ontario’s social and economic prosperity. AMO continues to ask the provincial government to sit down with municipalities and work together on a social and economic prosperity review to update the provincial-municipal fiscal relationship to support strong economic foundations, sustainable communities, and quality of life.
Municipalities Under Pressure: The Growing Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis
AMO, in partnership with the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA) and the Northern Ontario Service Deliverers Association (NOSDA), commissioned a comprehensive study that reveals the massive growth of homelessness in recent years, outlines the risks of inaction, and shows that there is a reasonable path forward for action by the provincial government to reverse these trends. This research was conducted by HelpSeeker Technologies.
It found that there were over 80,000 people experiencing homelessness in 2024. Without immediate provincial, this number could rise to 300,000 people without stable housing in the event of an economic downturn. A key message cover document and the full report will form the basis of AMO’s ongoing advocacy as we continue to call on the province to act on housing and homelessness. AMO has also developed a news release as well as a municipal communications toolkit for the report’s release.
AMO Positions
- AMO is calling on the provincial government to take comprehensive action on the opioid crisis, including investments in prevention, harm reduction, treatment and enforcement.
- AMO is committed to working with all orders of government and community partners to prevent, reduce and ultimately end homelessness in Ontario. Urgent action is needed to move beyond crisis response and tackle the root causes of homelessness with solutions that address housing, income security, and health.
- AMO is calling on the provincial government to work with municipalities and the broader health sector to develop and implement a provincial, sector-wide health human resources strategy to improve access to health services across the province.
Resources