How northwestern Ontario election candidates plan to tackle homelessness and addictions crises [Video]

With hundreds of people experiencing homelessness and opioid-related death rates that far exceed provincial averages, there’s a lot at stake in the provincial election for residents in northwestern Ontario.

At least 550 people are experiencing homelessness in Thunder Bay, according to the latest point-in-time count conducted in the fall. Further west, 500 people are known to be homeless in the Kenora District Services Board’s catchment area.

Homelessness in northern Ontario has grown four times faster than in non-northern communities in the last eight years, and new research suggests the region’s rates could more than quadruple over the next decade, as reported by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

As for the opioid crisis, the Thunder Bay district has the highest opioid-related death rate in the province, according to the latest information from the Office of the Chief Coroner. 

At a rate of 78.16 deaths per 100,000 population, that’s more than five times the provincial average of 15.7 deaths per 100,000 population.

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