TORONTO — Ontario legislation aimed at helping municipalities clear homeless encampments out of public parks will include stronger trespass laws and fines or jail time for illegal drug use in public, Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday.
Families should be able to enjoy parks and people facing homelessness, addiction or mental-health challenges should be supported in the right settings, Ford said.
The legislation would also allow police and provincial offences officers to ticket or arrest people using illegal drugs in public, with penalties of up to $10,000 or six months in jail. It is unclear when these measures would take effect, as the Ontario legislature is set to rise on Thursday for its winter break.
Ford's critics have said measures to force people out of encampments will do little to help if there are not enough places for them to go. The Ford government legislation comes after 12 mayors wrote to the premier asking him for tougher laws on encampments. Those mayors and others were on hand for Ford's press conference Thursday.
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