To the editor:
I’d like to respond to Holly Gauvin’s recent letter regarding the provincial government’s approach to homelessness. While I share her concern about the need for more affordable housing and compassionate support, I believe her position overlooks a key reality: waiting until every root cause of homelessness is resolved before taking any enforcement action on encampments is neither practical nor fair to the wider community.
This “no enforcement until all issues are fixed” mindset bears a striking resemblance to some arguments advanced in debates over bail reform, where the suggestion is to avoid holding offenders accountable until every economic and social factor driving criminality is addressed.
In both instances, such thinking delays any meaningful action, leaving ordinary people caught in the middle. Streets, parks, and neighbourhoods become less safe and less accessible while we wait indefinitely for a perfect solution that may never fully materialize.
More concerning, this persistent instability can unintentionally create perverse incentives. Although most nonprofits genuinely aim to help, when conditions remain unsettled like encampments ongoing or crime on a revolving door basis, it can lead some groups (even unintentionally) to focus more on sustaining their operations than on guiding people toward lasting stability. The problem here isn’t that these groups are inherently malicious, rather, the system’s “root-cause-or-nothing” approach can foster a cycle where problems remain unsolved, perpetually justifying more advocacy and fundraising.
Meanwhile, communities are left waiting in limbo. People living near overrun parks deserve to enjoy their public spaces without feeling unsafe or unwelcome. Those experiencing homelessness deserve practical pathways out of their situation, not a stalled promise that we’ll only “fix” things once every piece of the puzzle is in place. We need a balanced approach, one that addresses underlying issues like housing shortages, mental health, and addiction treatment, while also acknowledging the immediate need for reasonable standards of safety, order, and accountability.
Andre Gagne,
Thunder Bay
