Heather Wright/The Independent

A move to have homeless people in Ontario “shipped” to Ottawa to live in vacant office buildings has failed.

St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar made the motion at Wednesday’s Lambton County Council meeting.

While politicians were discussing the latest housing report showing a 20 per cent increase in the number of people seeking affordable housing over last year, Agar asked whether the county had considered building tiny homes or shipping containers to deal with the number of people living rough in the county.

Melissa Fitzpatrick, the county’s manager of Ontario Works, said staff believes it would not be the quick fix people are looking for, adding they would cost about the same per unit as building permanent housing and would still need all the regulatory approvals as well.

Agar also had another idea for housing the community’s homeless. The mayor told council he’d listened to a speech by the mayor of Ottawa who said 50 per cent of the city’s office building are now vacant.

“Why can’t we send off a motion to Ottawa to refurbish their buildings and send the homelessness from Ontario there?” he asked and then made the motion to do just that. “After it is finished, there is nothing to shipping them up there,” Agar said in response to a question.

The motion failed, but did gain support from Sarnia City County Councillors Bill Dennis and David Boushy as well as Brooke-Alvinston Mayor Dave Ferguson, and St. Clair’s Deputy Mayor Steve Miller.

Meantime, a request by the City of Sarnia for “financial assistance from the County of Lambton to
support the ongoing health and safety measures which have been implemented at Rainbow Park” was received and filed.

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley asked why some of the $9.3 million Lambton spends on homelessness issues could not be transferred to Sarnia. The city is spending about $90,000 a month on fencing, washrooms and security at the encampment with over 50 tents.

Melissa Fitzpatrick, the county’s manager of Ontario Works, said the county has been providing emergency shelter services through the summer and “we’re already funding ourselves running a deficit. So by year end, we will already be over budget…If we were to (provide founding) it would mean having to end services to community partners or internally.”

Bradley was also looking for the county to be a co-applicant if it went to court to get an injunction to clear the park. That request was referred to county staff respond.

Meantime county councillors did provide some support, passing a motion saying if Sarnia chooses to end the encampment, “the county will help with the demand for social services, which the county has a responsibility to provide.”