Homeless advocates decry Sudbury mayor’s ‘notwithstanding’ request to province

Applying the notwithstanding clause to address addiction and homelessness risks causing significantly more harm than good, say community groups in response to Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre’s recent request of the province along with 12 other mayors. 

Outreach groups and Public Health Sudbury and Districts are advocating for evidence-based solutions, not criminalization and forced treatment.

Lefebvre recently joined with 12 other Ontario mayors in penning a letter that asks the province to use the notwithstanding clause to dismantle homeless encampments, boost capacity for mandatory addiction care and increase reliance on incarceration. 

Groups like Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) and Réseau ACCESS Network, the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury, SWANS (Sex Workers Advisory Network Sudbury) and others have all expressed to Sudbury.com that the mayor’s proposed means of handling the homelessness and addiction crisis — through mandatory treatment and limits to court-supported human rights — are not only ineffective, but the proven solutions to these problems are already available, they just require funding.

Evidence-based solutions such as the city-council approved Roadmap to End Homelessness by 2030, as well as the City of Greater Sudbury Encampment strategy. 

On Nov. 1 , Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre, along with 12 other mayors, sent a letter, drafted at Premier Doug Ford’s invitation, that requests more municipal power from the province in dealing with homeless encampments, including the province enacting the notwithstanding clause, which prevents a court from declaring that legislation is of no force or effect when it’s inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights And Freedoms.

Lefebvre was the only Northern Ontario mayor to sign the letter. 

Among requests for a “drug and diversion court system” and clearer legislation regarding open drug use — a request to have its prohibition be similar to the open consumption of alcohol —the key points of advocacy within the 13 mayors’ open letter include asking the province to use the notwithstanding clause to overturn court cases that restrict “the ability of municipalities to regulate and prohibit encampments,” or dictate homelessness policy.

They also ask that the province strengthen a system of mandatory community-based and residential mental health care and expand service to treat those who have severe and debilitating addictions and to amend the Trespass to Property Act to include a separate provision for repetitive acts of trespass, the penalty for which should include a period of incarceration.

Heidi Eisenhauer, executive director of Réseau ACCESS Network, told Sudbury.com that as a harm reductionist, she has “significant concerns” about several proposals in the letter.

“While I share the mayors' desire to address our communities' challenges with mental health, substance use care, and homelessness/lack of housing, the proposed measures risk causing more harm than good,” she said.

Eisenhauer said evidence clearly shows that criminalization and forced treatment approaches don't work. “Research from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and St. Michael's Hospital demonstrates that punitive measures, including arresting people for trespassing or public drug use, only push people further away from accessing help and increase the risk of overdose deaths,” she said. 

PHSD and the Community Drug Strategy, made up of 60 agencies across Sudbury, point to everything learned at the Greater Sudbury Summit on Toxic Drugs, hosted in Dec. 7 and 8. The Summit was co-hosted by the strategy and the City of Greater Sudbury. 

“At the Summit, we looked at the evidence of what has worked elsewhere, whether it be in the areas of health promotion, wrap-around social supports including expanded access to affordable housing, and substance use care including expanded access to treatment and harm reduction,” reads a statement sent to Sudbury.com. “The Community Drug Strategy remains committed to following through on Summit recommendations.”

They included examples of evidence-based solutions, such as treatment based on readiness: “Addiction treatment experts around the world state that a critical ingredient to success is readiness to change. When people are forced into treatment against their will, it is unlikely to succeed.”   

They also speak of addressing and reducing prejudice. “Programs addressing mental health, substance use, or homelessness that reduce stigma toward persons experiencing these issues invite them to seek help,” PHSD stated. “Stigmatizing those suffering mental health, addictions, or homelessness through words, such as negative rhetoric, or actions, such as law enforcement action, perpetuates the problems we hope to solve.”

They also offer a model discussed at the summit, the Icelandic Prevention Model, which they describe as “Iceland’s experience of turning around a growing drug problem” by having parents, teachers, sporting centres, and the community engaging with youth early. 

“The City of Greater Sudbury and its Mayor are enthusiastic partners as we work across the community to bring this model here,” the statement reads.  

PHSD also points to Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, and his 2023 annual report. 

In it, he recommends an all-of-society, evidenced-driven approach to reduce substance use harms. “This includes building stronger communities through initiatives such as the Icelandic Prevention Model and Housing First; building stronger families through Healthy Babies, Healthy Children and Youth Wellness Hubs; maintaining and augmenting harm reduction policies and services; and providing fast, easy-to-access treatment services,” reads the PHSD statement to Sudbury.com. “This aligns well with where the Community Drug Strategy is focused.” 

Réseau’s Eisenhauer said that instead of using the notwithstanding clause “to restrict rights,” policy should focus on: expanding Housing First programs, which have proven highly successful at breaking the homelessness-jail cycle; increasing investment in affordable housing and rent supplements; strengthening housing stabilization funds to prevent homelessness; and supporting and expanding harm reduction services “that save lives daily.”

She also believes that Greater Sudbury and area “absolutely need an expansion of services,” but that these services must be voluntary and person-centred, trauma-informed, integrated with housing supports and developed with input from people with lived experience. 

Eisenhauer also adds that the proposal to prohibit public drug use, similar to alcohol regulations, “fails to recognize that substance use disorder is a health condition, not a choice. This approach would likely increase overdose deaths by forcing people to use alone in unsafe conditions,” she said. 

Eisenhauer and Réseau ACCESS Network also added their signatures to a letter circulated to community groups by Black Lives Matter Sudbury, addressed to the mayor and copied to the members of council. 

The letter states that to “seek an override of judicial authority through the notwithstanding clause” poses a troubling precedent for the city. 

“This measure would negate essential protections under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which rightfully prioritizes the rights and safety of individuals living in encampments,” the letter states. “While the complexities of homelessness and addiction demand urgent attention, resorting to tools that bypass foundational civil liberties could harm the most vulnerable members of our community rather than offering them the structured, compassionate care they require.” 

The signatories feel that invoking the notwithstanding clause directly contradicts the City Council motion passed on August 13, 2024, “which committed to exploring comprehensive solutions to homelessness that prioritize the dignity and rights of all residents.” 

“This motion reflects our community's values and the understanding that effective solutions require collaboration and respect for human rights, not measures that undermine them,” reads the letter. “The Council’s resolution to approach the homelessness crisis with compassion and systemic change should guide our actions moving forward.” 

The letter is signed by Black Lives Matter - Sudbury, Réseau ACCESS Network, Fierté Laurentian Pride, the Indigenous Students Circle at the Sudbury Campus of Laurentian University, the Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre, the Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury, SWANS (Sex Workers Advisory Network Sudbury) and several others. 

Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com.