“Let me be very clear: this homelessness crisis did not appear out of nowhere. It is the direct result of policy choices made by the Doug Ford government.” – St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman
A News Commentary by St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman
Posted August 13th, 2026 on Niagara At Large
St. Catharines Regional Councillor Haley Bateman
ST. CATHARINES, Ontario – Premier Doug Ford’s government has created the conditions that have driven more Ontarians into housing insecurity and homelessness and now, as municipalities are struggling to respond to the crisis his policies have created, his has made the sweeping decision to take away one of the most basic tools we have to keep people safe: a shelter.
The reported decision to cancel the lease for the shelter in St. Catharines is unconscionable.
Let me be very clear: this homelessness crisis did not appear out of nowhere. It is the direct result of policy choices made by the Doug Ford government.
For years, this government has made decisions that have made it harder for people to remain housed while failing to provide municipalities with the resources necessary to deal with the consequences and impossible for local councils to manage effectively.
The removal of rent control on new rental units, inadequate increases to Ontario Works and ODSP, massive infrastructure pressures placed on municipalities, and chronic underfunding of essential services have all contributed to an environment where people are increasingly vulnerable to losing their homes.
And municipalities are being left to clean up the mess.
Premier Ford needs to understand his role. He is the Premier of Ontario. He is not the mayor of St. Catharines, and he is not the mayor of any municipality in Niagara. Municipal councils are elected to represent their communities and have been working to find solutions to the homelessness crisis on the ground.
We are the ones dealing directly with residents, shelters, encampments, emergency services and the devastating consequences of people having nowhere to go.
We should not be having to fight our own provincial government for the basic tools required to keep people alive.
Shelters exist because people are already being failed by the housing system; they exist because people are sleeping outside; they exist because people cannot find an affordable place to live; they exist because social assistance rates do not provide enough to keep pace with the cost of housing.
They exist because the province has failed to adequately address the affordability crisis. And now Doug Ford wants to take one of those shelters away. I cannot believe that we are having to say this in Canada. In Ontario. In Niagara.
If this shelter is removed, the people who rely on it do not simply disappear. They do not suddenly become housed because the province cancels a lease. They will go somewhere.
For many, that somewhere will be an encampment, a vehicle, a doorway, a park or another place that is not safe or appropriate for anyone to live. We should expect encampments to grow throughout our communities as the number of people without access to shelter increases. And that is why this decision is so dangerous.
When I get calls from members of the community who were upset about the proposed location, the conversations were thorough. I left with the feeling that they understood that we, as a council were doing our best to keep people alive and give them access to services to help them get through what the trauma that goes hand in hand with poverty.
There is no municipal playbook for managing the immense amount of poverty and homelessness created by provincial policies that have made housing unaffordable and left people without adequate supports.
I can guarantee you that Doug Ford will not be changing his policies to ensure those who rely on the shelter, will be housed, and we cannot accept a situation where the Premier makes decisions affecting municipal homelessness services without even meaningfully engaging with the elected municipal officials who are responsible for responding to the consequences.
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Haley Bateman , St. Catharines Councillor at Niagara Region
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