Sudbury
Greater Sudbury metropolis assembly approved plans Monday day to determination up with caller transitional lodging projects aimed astatine addressing homelessness for younker and Indigenous people.
City assembly prioritizes semipermanent lodging solutions amid rising homelessness, voting down a tiny homes aviator
Faith Greco · CBC News
· Posted: Jul 15, 2025 7:08 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago
Greater Sudbury metropolis assembly approved plans Monday day to determination up with caller transitional lodging projects aimed astatine addressing homelessness for younker and Indigenous people.
However, a majority voted down Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc's connection to research a tiny homes aviator task arsenic a impermanent lodging solution.
The decisions travel arsenic portion of Sudbury's Roadmap to End Homelessness by 2030, which seeks to marque homelessness "rare, brief, and non-recurring" successful the metropolis successful the adjacent 5 years.
Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh led a question to make a 40-unit, Indigenous-led transitional lodging complex with wraparound supports.
The concern lawsuit volition beryllium prepared successful collaboration with Indigenous assemblage partners and is expected during the 2026–2027 fund cycle.
"There are presently 304 unhoused individuals successful Greater Sudbury, of which 77 per cent place arsenic precocious acuity, requiring wraparound supports," reads the motion.
McIntosh compared the program to council's erstwhile enactment for the Lorraine Street transitional lodging project, which is expected to invited its archetypal tenants adjacent week.
"I judge that conscionable similar successful November of 2020 erstwhile Council requested a concern lawsuit for what was to go our 40 portion Lorraine thoroughfare transitional lodging project, that we request to beryllium proactive and shovel acceptable for national and provincial grants that volition hopefully beryllium coming to conscionable this increasing request for supportive housing," she said.
Youth lodging a increasing concern
A 2nd motion, introduced by Mayor Paul Lefebvre focuses connected creating a 24-hour transitional lodging programme and exigency structure beds for those aged 16 to 24. The city's latest homelessness study lists 14 younker successful this property radical without housing.
Lefebvre, who chairs the assemblage information and well-being panel, said the question was informed by section agencies reporting a rising fig of stateless youth.
"The challenges of our younker that are precariously housed, oregon sometimes they're sofa surfing due to the fact that unluckily they don't person a location to spell backmost to, and it's becoming a large issue," helium said.
The astir debated point was a question by Coun. Bill Leduc to research a tiny homes task arsenic a fast, impermanent lodging enactment for radical presently surviving successful stateless encampments.
Leduc called tiny homes a "stepping stone" for those sleeping outside, noting that "when you're homeless, it's beingness and death."
But metropolis unit expressed concerns. Tyler Campbell, wide manager of assemblage wellbeing, told assembly that tiny homes are not portion of the city's semipermanent lodging roadmap.
Campbell explained that the yearly operating costs for tiny homes would beryllium akin to different supportive lodging programs. Specifically, tiny location wrap-around services would outgo astir $2 cardinal annually. By comparison, the Lorraine Street 40-unit transitional lodging task provides akin services astatine a somewhat little cost.
"The durability is not a agelong word superior infrastructure project, arsenic opposed to, you know, multi-residential, transitional oregon supportive lodging that we would beryllium looking astatine a 40-, 5-0, 60-year instrumentality on," helium said.
He besides noted that cities similar Hamilton are phasing retired tiny homes, and that nary provincial oregon national backing is presently disposable for specified projects.
City assembly ended up rejecting the tiny homes question by a ballot of 8 to 5.
Mayor calls for much federal, provincial support
Mayor Lefebvre said Sudbury faces ongoing challenges successful addressing homelessness and urged much enactment from provincial and national governments.
He warned that without assistance for neighbouring communities, Sudbury risks being overwhelmed with radical seeking lodging it cannot provide.
"Where my interest lies is that different communities that applied did not person the funding, and truthful I'm precise supportive, surely of Timmins and North Bay getting that benignant of enactment arsenic well. If not, radical think, well, we'll conscionable nonstop our astir acute cases to Sudbury," helium said.
"We cannot accommodate them astatine all, similar we are already wholly maxed out. So that's wherefore we request to person a authorities of the state and the feds helping retired these municipalities successful these areas, to assistance these folks successful their regions to enactment there."
He said that getting unit moving connected these businesses cases now is to guarantee Greater Sudbury is prepared to use for national lodging funds expected to unfastened this fall.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Faith Greco is simply a quality newsman for CBC Sudbury, covering bluish Ontario. You tin scope her astatine [email protected] and connected her Twitter relationship @FaithGreco12.