Should London declare a state of emergency regarding its housing crisis?

A growing number of voices say London’s housing crisis has become an emergency.

An online petition started by London Region Social Forum (LRSF) is calling on city hall to declare a state of emergency related to housing, similar to declarations after natural disasters.

“This is an emergency. I don’t know how else to put it,” explains Dirka Prout, a member of LRSF.

The petition highlights soaring rental rates, the years long wait list for social housing, deaths this year among London’s soaring number of people living unsheltered.

The goal of the petition is stated as, “Declaring a state of emergency can allow the city to access resources from the provincial and federal governments that can help avoid more deaths and suffering in the City of London.”

Prout would like to see access similar to senior government funding offered to some municipalities at height of the COVID pandemic.

“When they declared a state of emergency, additional funds are unlocked through dialogue with the province and even the federal government, so we are hoping something similar happens in this case,” she adds.

However, Mayor Josh Morgan says declaring a state of emergency wouldn’t accomplish the petition’s goals.

“We would not be accessing any resources that we can’t already access now,” explains Morgan. “I would see this mainly as a political maneuver rather than something that would tangibly move the needle forward.”

He adds that specific criteria must be met before a declaration.

“The declaring of an emergency is a very specific tool under the Act that is done under specific advice given by the emergency operations group,” Morgan says.

“This is an emergency. People are dying,” Gary Turner tells CTV News. “Just last night I had someone come to my door at 2 a.m. because they had no warm blankets and they’re sleeping in a tent.”

Turner lives in a Conestoga hut he constructed after being unable to find housing in London.

He believes a declaration could have direct and indirect benefits.

“Declaring it an emergency will get more people to pay attention, and give resources to try to help,” Turner says.

Some other communities in Ontario have declared a state of emergency related to housing and homelessness including the City of Ottawa in 2020 and Peterborough earlier this year.

“It may be something other cities need to do to draw attention to the issue, but I can tell you hear in London, for all intents and purposes we are acting as if it’s an emergency,” says Morgan.

The mayor points to this week’s summit on homelessness that brought together more than 60 organizations and agencies to work on a comprehensive citywide strategy.