Sudbury is a Hilton for the homeless, says city councillor
Other municipalities need to pitch in to help Sudbury support homeless visitors
Homeless visitors from outside Sudbury are driving up the cost of city homeless shelters.
Municipal taff told Greather Sudbury City Council last night that people from Manitoulin Island and other areas take up beds at shelters.
But those beds are paid for entirely by Sudbury taxpayers.
Councillor Joscelyne Landry-Altmann said the city has become the "homeless Hilton" for northern Ontario’s homeless population.
"If (homeless people from) other municipalities are coming to Sudbury and taking up the beds that Sudburians are paying for, I think it's very fair we should be requesting some kind of contribution," she said.
Sudbury shelter beds cost more
Landry-Altmann said this is likely one of the reasons why homeless shelter beds cost more in Sudbury than other cities.
She said in Hamilton, taxpayers pay $16 per bed, while here, it's $58.
The councillor’s comments were made as the city’s budget committee reviewed the Emergency Shelter Services’ request for about $300,000 of operational "top-up" funding. The Emergency Shelter Program has been receiving one-time funding since 2006 to support the Women and Families Program, Mens Program and Youth Programs in the city.
Landry-Altmann’s ideas about cost sharing with other municipalities have yet to be discussed.