Struggles of Municipal Funding for Social Services

A coalition of mayors across Ontario are pleading for help in what they call a “humanitarian crisis” on their streets. They say the issues of homelessness, drug addiction and mental health are beyond their capacity to handle, and they need a more sustained and well-funded support from higher levels of government.

Burlington Mayor and Chair of Ontario’s Big City Mayors Marianne Meed Ward joins us to talk about why cities went public with their plea. Then, the Globe and Mail’s Queen’s Park reporter Jeff Gray talks about how this fits into the longstanding struggle between cities and provinces over funding social services.

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