City remains committed to meeting the needs of our unsheltered and unhoused residents

In January 2023, The Superior Court of Justice decided on The Regional Municipality of Waterloo Applicant v. Persons Unknown and to be Ascertained Respondent(s) (CV-22-717). The health and wellbeing of individuals residing in encampments in our community is the City of Greater Sudbury’s top priority, and our Encampment Response Guide reflects this, and our commitment to protecting the human rights and dignity of people experiencing homelessness in our community.   

The aim of the Greater Sudbury Encampment Response Guide, which was developed with an expert in the field, is not to displace people experiencing homelessness to other locations, but to support people to resolve their homelessness. The plan allows us to help house these individuals in a transparent and coordinated approach. We are doing everything we can to assist these individuals and multiple stakeholders across the community. 

As outlined in the guide, enforcement will occur only after multiple support efforts have been attempted without success, provided that the individual has been notified that they are required to vacate a public space. All residents of Greater Sudbury should have access to public space, and no person, business or entity can or should claim public space as private space. Occasionally, but very rarely, the City does need to enforce removals from public spaces.  

We are committed to meeting the needs of our unsheltered and unhoused residents through supports and services aimed to help them find permanent housing. The City collaborated with community partners on innovative solutions to provide additional service options and increased capacity to support people experiencing homelessness by: 

• Adding a 10-bed emergency shelter through Safe Harbour House, operated by the Elizabeth Fry Society; 

• Making bridge housing available through a local motel program for people staying in a shelter who had a firm housing offer; 

• Renovating 30 two-bedroom social housing units into one-bedroom units to meet demand; 

• Implementing a flex funding program to provide better, faster solutions to access housing (for example, transportation to one’s home community); 

• Implementing the ACTTS 3 transitional housing program in partnership with Health Sciences North. 

There is no way to force people to accept an offer of service. It’s important to empower people to make meaningful choices in housing, and this requires that people voluntarily accept offers of services.