Positions
What to Know About Bill 6, The Safer Municipalities Act
Released May 16, 2025 – The below communication is a joint effort of the Poverty Elimination Collaborative and the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy.
Earlier this month, the provincial government introduced Bill 6, The Safer Municipalities Act, which focuses on increasing enforcement around encampments and public substance use. If passed, the bill will expand municipal authority and enforcement powers to:
- Ban the use of illegal drugs in public places. Police and other enforcement officers could give directions, issue tickets, or arrest someone they believe is using drugs in public. People could face fines of up to $10,000 or up to six months in jail.
- Increase penalties under the Trespass to Property Act, including higher fines of up to $10,000 for people who are unhoused and found trespassing.
What this means
This bill represents a significant shift toward enforcement-based responses to issues rooted in poverty, housing insecurity, and health. By conflating homelessness and substance use with criminal behavior, this legislation risks increasing harm and pushing people further from support. It also undermines the local, health- and housing-based work underway in Guelph-Wellington to support people in our community.
Our Stance
Enforcement-based approaches are not a solution to homelessness or substance use. Homelessness is a housing and income issue. Substance use is a health issue. Real solutions ensure people’s basic needs are met: housing, income, safety, healthcare, and support.
We must advance proven solutions: deeply affordable and supportive housing, fair rent controls, and accessible, low-barrier health services – including a full range of voluntary substance use supports tailored to individual needs.
Position Statements
Basic Income Guarantee (April 2016)
A Basic Income Guarantee (BIG), also known as a Guaranteed Annual Income, is an unconditional cash transfer from government to individuals or families to provide a minimum annual income. The Basic Income Canada Network asserts that a BIG “ensures everyone has an income sufficient to meet basic needs and live with dignity, regardless of work status.
It is the position of the Guelph & Wellington Poverty Elimination Collaborative that poverty is an urgent human rights and social justice issue for local, provincial and federal governments. A Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) is required as part of a coherent strategy to effectively eliminate poverty.
Read the full position statement here: Basic Income Guarantee
Household Food Insecurity (September 2016)
As a symptom of poverty, household food insecurity impacted over 3.2 million individuals in Canada in 2014 (Tarasuk, V., Mitchell, A. & Dachner, N., 2016). The health issues and associated health care costs as a result of household food insecurity are well documented, along with the impact household food insecurity can have on experiences of stigma, shame, stress, and social exclusion. While community-based charitable food assistance programs, such as food banks, play a role in addressing hunger, they are unable to reduce or eliminate poverty.
It is the position of the Guelph & Wellington Poverty Elimination Collaborative that a multi-pronged income-based response is needed to address the root causes of household food insecurity, which are financial constraints and financial vulnerability.
Read the full position statement here: Household Food Insecurity