London councillor says social media reaction to Twitter post is overreaction

London, Ont. Ward 4 Councillor Susan Stevenson is seen in this undated image. (CTV News file photo)

A London city councillor said she's surprised by strong online reactions to her Twitter comment that linked to an article by a U.S. political commentator.

Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson said on Wednesday that she simply wanted to continue the debate on how to deal with homelessness.

"The outrage is really just trying to find something to pick a fight on here,” she said.

Stevenson linked to an article by Michael Smerconish, an American radio show and CNN host. In the article on his website, Smerconish suggested that communities that manage to provide full housing and supports to people who are homeless should then be allowed to detain anyone who declines services and insists on living rough.

Stevenson tweeted “London could be first,” which drew a torrent of concerns and some outrage, with commenters questioning if she was recommending internment camps.

Stevenson said she was recently exposed to the term ‘monomania’ and feels that may be what is being demonstrated by some individuals when it comes to the debate on homelessness.

“It’s somebody who just has an exaggerated opinion on one particular thing and will not consider anything else. I think that’s what we’re dealing with,” she explained.

On Tuesday, Stephen Turner, a former London city councillor and current manager of Lambton Emergency Medical Services, took issue with Smerconish’s position that that detaining people could be an option.

"The second part of that article mentioned that if somebody isn't willing to accept that help then they should be arrested and detained,” he said. “That raises a lot of alarms and a lot of red flags about human rights, about dignity."

A retweet from London, Ont. Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson, from Michael Smerconish, an American radio show and CNN host. (Source: Susan Stevenson/Twitter)Stevenson insisted her goal is to ensure concerns about encampments on streets and in parks were going to be addressed.

"What I wrote didn't say anything about arresting people. There was one small sentence [in the Smerconish article] and it blew up like this. So that discourages the public from even getting into a conversation,” she said.

Stevenson has repeatedly raised questions about a community-driven plan to address homelessness. That plan is calling for the implementation of 15 community hubs throughout the city that would provide services and supports for those who are homeless.

The plan, which received a $25 million donation from a private citizen, would also include the development of supported housing.

The strategy is being developed by local stakeholders from a number of sectors, including health care, social service, and business. No politicians were part of the strategic planning sessions.

Stevenson has concerns about a lack of transparency and a lack of clear direction on how additional funding will be secured and said, “We don’t have a history of success here. So this model, and these experts, are not showing us how it’s going to work.”

Turner said the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with a surge in mental health and addictions issues, quickly and dramatically amplified the challenges of homelessness. He believes the strategies being developed will see results and warns about taking hardline approaches.

"Like suggestions that we can just arrest our way out of this, which many police chiefs in London have said we can't do. It's quite clear that we need to have everybody rowing in the same direction,” he said.