Timmins-James Bay MPP Charlie Angus used his reply to the Throne Speech last week to talk about the growing opioid and homelessness issues in the region.
This year in Timmins, the Porcupine Health Unit has issued a number of alerts about the increased rate of suspected overdoses in the Cochrane District. Drug use, homelessness and crime in Timmins have also been ongoing conversations at the city council table.
"In the north we are dealing in the midst of the pandemic with the other great pandemic — the opioid crisis — and it has been a disaster. I'm talking to people in North Bay about it, I'm talking to people in Sudbury and Kirkland Lake. Timmins has been hit very, very hard. And we have, mixed in with the opioid crisis, the homelessness crisis upwards of sometimes a thousand people homeless in the Timmins region. A community of 44,000," said Angus.
Angus congratulated Timmins Mayor George Pirie, the Cochrane District Social Services Administration Board, police, and Living Space for helping keep people safe and housed.
"What I noticed is that the Liberal government quietly let many of the programs that could have helped die over the last year. A lot of the monies that should have been there for opioids are not there. The money for homelessness. There have been great promises but it dried up very quickly. We're hearing positive language from the government but when will that money be delivered because this winter is going to be a very hard winter in Canada," he said.
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