Niagara region declares state of emergency for homelessness, mental health and opioid addiction
CBC
Niagara Region has declared a state of emergency for homelessness, mental health and opioid addiction.
The regional council voted almost unanimously during a Feb. 23 meeting to make the three separate declarations to help address the crises facing the region and ask for federal and provincial support.
Paramedics in the region responded to 657 suspected opioid overdoses in 2022 and 1,001 in 2021. There were 49 in January.
The area is home to around 485,000 people and includes St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie.
"Everyone has been touched by this ... We've had so many funerals of our kids, so many funerals of our loved ones," said Steve Borisenko, whose 21-year-old son Jacob died of an accidental drug overdose nearly two years ago.
The multi-pronged motion also included directions to:
Borisenko said it's a big win.
"I am fully behind it and I think it's long overdue," he told CBC Hamilton.
Borisenko said his expectations on what can be achieved are tempered but is disappointed to hear Coun. Tom Insinna and Coun. Laura Ip voted down the idea of declaring a state of emergency.
Ip told CBC Hamilton said while she supported sending most correspondences to different levels of government (only Insinna opposed all of them), she didn't support declaring the state of emergency because there's no guarantee of additional funding or other resources.
"I don't think it's going to do anything at all ... my concern is giving people false hope," she said.
Ip emphasized she didn't oppose it because she doesn't care.
"[People] think none of us in the decision-making roles have these experiences ... I lost my sister to suicide," she said.
Ip also noted how regional council is allotting $5.8 million into homelessness, mental health and addictions in its budget, while the provincial and federal governments haven't done much to support those issues in Niagara.
