A member of the Ontario legislature from Windsor is taking the majority Liberals to task on homelessness.
Windsor West MP Lisa Gretzky stood up on the floor at Queen's Park Wednesday to inquire about the government's plan to fund $200-million province-wide in homelessness support services. Gretzky was dismayed to learn that Windsor was not included in the funding plan.
"There was no excuse to deny Windsor a portion of this funding," Gretzky said from the floor. "We just found out from Statistics Canada that among all cities in Canada, Windsor has the highest rate of children living in low-income households."
Gretzky also pointed out that Windsor has had 6.4% drop in median income over the past ten years, but with more of them looking to support agencies for help, Gretzky believes services are being pulled thinner and thinner.
"I recently visited our Downtown Mission, Victoria Manor and the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women and Families in Windsor. It's clear that they, along with other community organizations, are stretched thin and in desperate need of resources," said Gretzky.
Speaking on behalf of the ruling Liberals, Minister of Housing Peter Milczyn said the Liberals are committed to affordable housing and funding for transitional services. Milczyn says the $200-million is set aside just for that.
Gretzky said she understands that cities across Ontario applied for the funding, but the Wynne government is not explaining why Windsor was cut out of the deal.
"Municipalities like Windsor have fewer and fewer resources for homelessness prevention, even though the number of people whose primary residence is a shelter has increased by 10%," said Gretzky.
Milczyn says that since the Liberals came to power in 2003 under Dalton McGuinty, Windsor has received over $106 million in funding for affordable housing, created over 300 new units, repaired over 5,900 more, and prevented over 1,200 people from being evicted.
