The leaders of Ontario’s big cities are calling on the province to review the laws around mandatory treatment for those who pose a risk to themselves or others, noting that these date from before the opioid crisis.
But the Ontario Big City Mayors Caucus is not taking a position on whether involuntary treatment should be applied more broadly. That is a discussion for experts, said London Mayor Josh Morgan, who chaired a meeting of the OBCM Friday.
The meeting came as mayors nationwide struggle with a rise in homelessness, tent encampments, addiction issues and social disorder. The OBCM launched a campaign in August dubbed Solve the Crisis, which called for more help from higher levels of government.
In British Columbia, involuntary treatment is a key topic of the provincial election. NDP Premier David Eby announced an increase in involuntary care beds shortly before the campaign began. His chief rival, Conservative Party Leader John Rustad, later announced support for involuntary treatment for those with severe addictions, particularly children.
The Ontario mayors’ group also called for legislation against open illegal drug use and for laws targeting aggressive and repetitive trespassing. In advance of the meeting, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association warned that the latter measure would criminalize the poor and homeless.
“These provisions would disproportionately harm groups that are already marginalized, as they are over-represented among unhoused people,” the association said in an open letter.
Friday morning’s meeting of Ontario mayors, a group which includes leaders of municipalities with more than 100,000 people, ran more than two hours longer than planned. At the end, Mr. Morgan said that the time was necessary to reach a consensus position upon which the group could agree, though he acknowledged that individual mayors may have different views about tackling these issues.
In a statement, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow did not address a question about involuntary treatment.
“There are no quick fixes,” she wrote. “What we need in Toronto is a comprehensive approach that includes all the services people need – supportive housing, treatment services, mental health services, primary care, harm reduction and more.”
Several Ontario mayors have also called for stronger laws around involuntary treatment. One of them, Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall, was at Friday’s news conference. Asked about the evolution from his position to the motion that passed, he said only he was content with the result.
In a statement, Hannah Jensen, a spokeswoman for Ontario Minister of Health Sylvia Jones, did not address a question of whether the government was open to reviewing the law around involuntary treatment. She instead sent a list of what the government was doing to assist people with mental-health and addiction problems.
The lengthy resolution passed by the leaders of the 29 municipalities calls on the provincial and federal governments to fund addiction and homeless supports. It also asks these governments to seek intervenor status in court cases involving encampments, allowing the governments to participate in such cases.