BURLINGTON - Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said he will give police and judges the legal power to remove tent cities from public property.
During a press conference at the Croatian Sports and Community Centre of Hamilton in Stoney Creek on Wednesday morning, Polievre said businesses and families should be able to use public parks without fear.
“These homeless encampments are a symbol of everything this lost Liberal decade has brought us, doubling housing costs, out of control food prices which put people under economic strain, and rampant liberalization of drugs and crime which allows the chaos to expand,” Poilievre said.
He said his government would support drug treatment programs for 50,000 Canadians, and would connect people who live in encampments with housing supports.
Poilievre added the possibility of criminal charges is still there for some, though alternative measures are available.
“Where appropriate, the occupants will face criminal charges, but we will give judges the power to order the people charged for illegally occupying these public places with a simple possession charge that requires they go into treatment,” he said. “We are here to give people a way out. If someone is illegally occupying public space then we will allow judges to give them a sentence of drug treatment that will get them off the poisons that condemn them to homelessness in the first place.”
Poilievre said for more serious cases where addiction is a factor in their crime, his party will allow judges to make mandatory treatment a part of their prison sentence, along with regular drug testing for prisoners.
After testing and treatment in prison, Poilievre said the chances of rehabilitation and being a successful part of society is higher. He said there are an estimated 1,400 encampments in Ontario alone, and homelessness has jumped by 20 per cent since 2018.
“That is the legacy of the Liberal government,” he said. “The Liberals promised to eliminate chronic homelessness, and instead it went through the roof.”
He claimed public parks around schools are filled with homeless on the ground, unconscious from drug use.
“These are places where half dead, contorted bodies lie on the ground on the verge of overdose from fentanyl,” Poilievre said. “Twisted spinal cords from countless hours hunched over in painful positions that they cannot sense because of the poison running through their bodies and their minds.”
Poilievre also thanked the members of the Hamilton Police Association for joining him at the event, and the Toronto Police Union for endorsing the Conservative party.
“It means the world to me to have the support of our most courageous people, the police who put on a uniform and leave in the morning, kissing their kids goodbye, knowing they may not return,” he said. “They do all of that so you and I can walk our streets safely.”
RELATED STORY: Pierre Poilievre draws thousands of rally-goers in Stoney Creek
