This week, we received some shocking news from the provincial government, news that impacts every single one of us in downtown Ottawa. We were told that the increase we would be receiving in funding to address homelessness and build much-needed affordable housing is a mere 0.4% ($845,000) of the additional funds being distributed in Ontario. Toronto, a city roughly three times the size of Ottawa, has received an increase that is 60 times that of ours.
What does this mean in real terms in downtown Ottawa? It means that our already-overflowing homeless shelters will have to turn people away.