TORONTO – Ontario legislation aimed at helping municipalities clear homeless encampments from public parks will include stronger trespassing laws and fines or jail time for illegal drug use in public, Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday.

Families should be able to enjoy parks and people facing homelessness, substance abuse or mental health challenges should be supported in the right environment, Ford said.

“These camps are taking over public spaces, with illegal drug use out in the open, creating huge security risks for people and communities,” he told a news conference. “Enough is enough. This has to stop, and it will stop.”

The bill is set to strengthen penalties for people who repeatedly violate trespass laws, adding “continuous trespass” as an aggravating factor that courts would consider during sentencing.

The legislation would also allow police officers and police officers within the province to ticket or arrest people using illegal drugs in public, with penalties of up to $10,000 or six months in jail.

The government says it is considering allowing the courts to provide rehabilitation as an alternative to prison for minor or non-violent crimes, and Ford said he is not considering involuntary treatment at this time.

Ford has said he does not expect to use the controversial legislative tool known as the notwithstanding clause that would override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but is “absolutely prepared” to if the courts “intervene.”

It’s unclear when those measures will take effect, as the Ontario legislature will adjourn Thursday for its winter recess and isn’t scheduled to return until March 3.

But Ford said he wants action on the camps quickly.

“We want to do it immediately, as quickly as possible,” he said.

“As soon as we can get this through, they will give the tools to not only municipalities but to the police.”

Homelessness and encampment have increased dramatically in recent years, which Ford’s critics attribute to poor progress on initiatives such as building supportive housing.

Shelters across the province are full, with about 12,000 people living in Toronto’s shelters alone. Food banks from municipalities

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario estimates there were at least 1,400 homeless encampments in small and large communities across the province last year.

Ford’s critics have said moves to force people out of camps won’t help if there aren’t enough places for them to go.

The Prime Minister accepted it.

“Homeless people, we want to help them,” Ford said. “We want to find shelter for them. We want to get a roof over their head, get them back out there working and finding a job.”

The premier also announced an additional $75.5 million Thursday for homelessness prevention programs, including $50 million for affordable housing, $20 million to expand shelter capacity and $5.5 million to top up the Canada-Ontario housing benefit to immediately release emergency shelter spaces.

Local Government and Housing Minister Paul Calandra said the money will flow immediately. That will help get “shovel-ready” supportive housing projects moving, he said.

But that money comes with strings attached.

“We will of course insist that any increase in funding that flows to a community also comes with a guarantee that they will take action to remove encampments in their communities,” he said.

That’s in addition to the nearly $700 million annually the province says it’s investing in homelessness prevention programs and a recently announced $378 million to create 19 homelessness and addiction recovery treatment centers, with up to 375 highly supportive housing units. These hubs are being established in place of drug consumption sites that the province intends to shut down in the spring.

The Ford government’s legislation comes after 12 mayors wrote to the prime minister asking him for tougher laws on encampments. Those mayors and others were on hand for Ford’s press conference Thursday.

Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter said as someone who has been a recovering alcoholic and drug addict for the past 34 years, “compassionate intervention” is the way to go.

“If this is about saving people’s lives, why don’t we put everything on the table and say, ‘What are we going to do to be able to save these people’s lives?'” he said.

“I think it is – and my colleagues think it is – unacceptable that people are sitting in tents that can either freeze to death or burn to death. Families expect us to do more, and we are determined to do more.”

The opposition was skeptical of the new legislation.

“If someone has $10,000 to pay a fine, I doubt they’re living in a park,” said New Democrat housing critic Jessica Bell.

“It’s cheaper to find someone a permanent home than to send them to prison and it’s much more effective in getting them to rebuild their lives.”

The province needs to show more compassion, Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said.

“This could have been my father out on the street and they’re criminalizing them and they’re very punitive,” said Crombie, who has spoken openly about her father’s lifelong battle with addiction and living in a shelter in Toronto.

“I understand we have a problem and we need to move people off our streets, but we need to house them somewhere and I would like to see the plan where we will house them other than in our prisons and give them the treatment that they needs.”

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on December 12, 2024.

Liam Casey and Allison Jones, Canadian Press