Peterborough’s City Council met on the evening of May 23rd to discuss and bring forth amendments to the Homelessness Service Strategy previously adopted on May 8th. The motion, which centres around the implementation of modular housing at 210 Wolfe Street, has been a controversial proposal among both residents in and around Wolfe Street and amongst councillors themselves. 

The meeting opened with delegations from concerned Peterborough residents, many of whom live in the Wolfe Street neighbourhood, voicing their troubles with the proposed motion—outlining concerns with security, lack of communication with the neighbourhood, and placement of the modular homes as the main elements within their hesitation. Mike Melnik, a delegate from the meeting, spoke on the urgency and pressure council faces in their decision to resolve chronic homelessness within Peterborough: “Go home and pray to God this works because if it doesn’t, this will be your legacy.” 

Councillors Alex Bierk and Kieth Riel worked as partners in bringing forth this proposal to council. With obvious frustration, Riel reiterated to his fellow council members the level of crisis Peterborough faces with its unhoused population.

“This is not forever and a day, right now we have got to get these people stabilized, we have got to get them out of an unhealthy situation—it's not healthy for them or for the community,” Riel said. 

In response to the lack of communication between City Hall and Wolfe Street residents, Riel stated his intentions to ask the delegation of people present at council to join the planned Community Liaison Committee “so as not to leave anyone behind.”

The urgency to combat the pressing issue of homelessness in the city was felt amongst all of the councillors, though this concern was showcased through vastly different approaches. At one point, Councillor David Haacke proposed “mandatory or involuntary treatment centres”. Haacke hypothesized a scenario in which currently unhoused people would prefer to remain exposed, vulnerable, and at-risk while living in tents rather than in proper housing and under the care of professionals available to provide desperately needed support. 

Additionally, Haacke also spoke to the relocation of the modular housing site to be built in the County of Peterborough rather than in the downtown, essentially isolating those using the service from existing supports and treatments available downtown—further feeding into the “not in my backyard” rhetoric shared between himself and councillor Leslie Parnell, both of whom raised points to relocate the project out of the city. 

Councillor Andrew Beamer brought forth his concerns with the initial proposal in two main parts: location and law enforcement. He began by apologizing to residents for what has happened to the lot on Wolfe Street, noting that the site was initially promised as a temporary measure in 2020 but has now spiralled to the point of crisis. Beamer then moved to outline his goal to help residents three years later by implementing modular housing outside of residential areas. 

“We can’t have an encampment in a residential area. I think we all know that,” Beamer said.

An ongoing concern amongst council members, as stated by Beamer, is the topic of law enforcement within the proposed encampment. In order for Beamer to fully support the proposal, he stated that “there needs to be enforcement. There is a criminal element at Wolfe Street. Not every homeless person is a criminal, but there is a criminal element at Wolfe Street.”

 In an issue as complex as a homelessness crisis, there is no one fix-all solution, as outlined throughout the meeting and delegations. “We are witnessing the actual failure of policy in the province of Ontario…This is the most difficult council situation I’ve dealt with,” said Mayor Jeff Leal. As Bierk stated during discussion, this is a step in the right direction towards ending this emergency in the Peterborough community. 

In response to councillor Leslie Parnell’s proposal to vote on a separate motion to build the modular homes on another private property, Bierk voiced to Parnell and his fellow Council members that they have had since May 8th to provide a better solution and have since failed to do so—echoing the sentiment again that there is nothing productive about arguing against ideas without bringing forth better solutions. 

“What I don’t hear from those three people that voted against, you’ve had since May 8th to come up with another idea…I don’t see a new proposal,” said Bierk. 

Councillor Gary Baldwin also voiced his inability to support Parnell’s proposal due to the fact that there is no other property available at the current time.

Councillor Riel supported Bierk in another passionate and frustrated speech, asking his colleagues “if you’ve got another place and another plan please roll it out to me because this is the plan…Before we do anything, we have to get this passed tonight. Unless it’s passed, we move forward and the clock starts ticking.”

The amendment from Parnell was lost in a 5-6 vote with Parnell, Vassiliadis, Crowley, Haacke, and Beamer voting for, and Duguay, Lachica, Baldwin, Leal, Riel, and Bierk voting against. 

The original motion for modular homes to be built in addition to support services, washroom facilities, and security on 210 Wolfe Street passed in a 7-4 vote with Beamer, Parnell, Haacke, and Vassiliadis in dissent. 

Amendments to the proposal include the creation of a community liaison committee, an 18-24 month timeframe with alternative sites to be included with time, security program for both residents and unhoused people, people within the modular housing program to abide by basic rules and property use agreements, immediately locating a secure location for the “medium-term strategy”, and any additional funding from the “short-term strategy” to be allocated to the medium and long-term solutions. 

The amendments passed in a 10-1 vote with only Haacke voting against.