4 Friday, October 13, 2023 brooklintowncrier.com "Ontario is facing a homelessness crisis that is leading to profound and devastating impacts on our communities. On December 12, 2022 the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) released a statement on the need to protect and uphold the rights of people experiencing homelessness and living in temporary shelters and encampments." The Ontario Human Rights Commission Across the country, we are failing. Epically. There are many contributing factors that are beyond local municipalities to control, yet it is we who carry the weight of sheltering people. At the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), I sit with representatives from large regions such as Peel, York, Ottawa, Niagara, and Hamilton. We are all feeling it. Last week, Regional Chair John Henry went hard at the Federal Government citing, as one example, a rise in asylum seekers. He wasn't wrong. Though Toronto receives funding, every day asylum seekers arrive from Toronto on the Go train in Ajax, depleting our food banks used for the unsheltered. We simply don't have enough for this unprecedented influx of people in need. They alone are costing Durham Region over $800k per month. But the province isn't exactly asking how they can help either. Our own housing strategy is being re-written at the Region. Given housing changes in recent years, we can assume we will need to plan for the worst. But without serious funding from other levels of government, we are doomed to pay for it. For instance, in order to remove an encampment, we need to provide adequate shelter. This was proven in the court case against Waterloo earlier this year when they cleared a tent city. Hamilton has decided to allow tents and build no shelters. We are watching that experiment closely. In the meantime, the Region purchased 1635 Dundas Street (formerly Sunnycrest Nursing Home) as a shelter. The surrounding community is outraged. I appreciate their concerns and will continue to work at mitigating issues. However, it is clear that all neighbourhoods should brace themselves to host before too long. Simply put, we cannot afford it. People are struggling to stay in their homes more than ever without us increasing taxes. This is not party politics. It is reality. If you have influence governmentally, help. Brooklin: pay close heed. One of Brooklin's early and more beloved physicians, Dr. William Guthrie Young Grant, first made his mark in the area in 1948. He'd joined Dr. W. Baldwin's practice in the Brooklin Medical Centre, located at 2 Princess Street. It marked the beginning of a lengthy career, often tending to multi-generationsof families. Born in Toronto in 1924, Dr. Grant grew up in Gravenhurst, becoming the third generation in a medical lineage that included his grandfather and father James while his mother Edith was a registered nurse. He was educated at the prominent private school St. Andrews College and graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto in 1947. He completed his medical and surgical residencies at St. Michael's Hospital and Toronto General Hospital. The Brooklin home During his early years in Brooklin, he married Joy Angela Bedson of Winnipeg whom he met while she was visiting friends in the Village. They had four children, Iain, Jane, Gail and Donald, and lived at 35 Winchester St. East which was across the road from the medical clinic. Today it's Georgio's Salon and Spa. Dr. Grant played a significant role in medical leadership in the community. He was Chief of Staff at both Oshawa General Hospital and J.O.Ruddy Hospital which was renamed Whitby General Hospital in 1987. It is now part One of Brooklin's Prominent Phyhsicians By Jennifer Hudgins Continued on page 5 Rhonda Mulcahy Regional & Town Councillor mulcahyr@whitby.ca 905-706-0482 On the issue of housing the homeless