An interview with the University-Rosedale representative on top issues facing students and Ontarians
Jessica Bell is the MPP for the riding of University-Rosedale, representing its constituents in the Ontario Legislature. She is a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party and is the official Opposition Housing Critic. Ahead of the holidays, The Strand was able to have the following interview with MPP Bell about top issues in our community and the province.
The Strand: Before becoming the representative for our riding, you were one of the founders of the advocacy group TTC Riders. How has your experience been transitioning from activism to the world of legislative politics?
Jessica Bell: I see activism and politics as different sides of the same coin. Both approaches have the same goal, which is to bring about progressive change, but each has different tactics. On the legislative side, you can vote, introduce legislation, and participate in the formal political process. With activism, you use more grassroots tactics like organizing. I switched from activism to politics because I wanted to work on multiple issues at once. On the provincial level, we deal with the major issues that affect people’s daily lives from health care, to education, to transit, to dealing with housing and rent. The provincial legislature influences all those issues. With activism, to secure a change, you have to work on one issue for many years before you’ll see results.
The Strand: You’re the official Opposition Housing Critic. A lot of young people feel the housing situation in Toronto right now is scary. What specific changes or initiatives are you working for in Ontario to address the rental market?
Jessica Bell: I hear from students who have fallen into homelessness, living with multiple people in a bedroom, who have to work full-time jobs while going to school full-time. It didn’t used to be like that. Doug Ford and Justin Trudeau did not spend as much on housing and they certainly did not spend as much on student fees. There is this generational issue where younger people today have to pay a whole lot more than older generations did. We also know that we have a critical shortage of student housing, especially in Toronto. Most students are guaranteed – at best – accommodation for the first year of their undergraduate degree. Once that first year is done, they need to venture into what is quite frankly a hostile and expensive housing market. It’s sink or swim. That needs to change provincially. What we’re pushing for is strong rent control on all homes, no matter when they’re built, as well as vacancy control so there is a cap on how much the rent can be raised between tenancies. Strong rent control is the most effective way to stabilize housing prices and protect people from illegal eviction, which is very common in our riding. The provincial government must get back into the job of building nonprofit and affordable housing, including housing for people living on minimum wage or social assistance and people who are students. We’ve put forward a plan called Homes Ontario. It would be an agency that would be responsible for overseeing the construction of 250,000 affordable homes. We are also pushing for zoning changes to make it quicker and easier for developers, including non-market developers, to build more housing. There’s no single magic policy bullet that’s going to solve the issue. We need an all-hands-on-deck approach that looks at supply-side issues and demand-side issues.
The Strand: Recent proposed changes regarding bike lanes in the city have been a big issue for many students. What are your thoughts regarding the changes and where do you see this issue heading?
Jessica Bell: I think this is a very relevant issue to University of Toronto students because many students do not own cars. Students rely on transit, walking, or cycling to get to their destinations. Doug Ford has chosen to pick a fight with bike lanes because it helps him politically with his base. There is no evidence to suggest that removing the bike lanes in downtown Toronto is going to make it easier for anybody to get to their destination on time. Toronto has some of the worst congestion issues in North America. It’s a problem that will be solved by building more homes near transit routes and near where people work, play, and study so they can get to their destination without having to drive. It will be solved by investing in public transit operations so we can get immediate service improvements now, and long-term investments in new transit lines. Removing these bike lanes will make cycling more dangerous. It’ll increase the likelihood of injuries and deaths. It is dangerous and divisive. Many people understand that bike lanes are part of the solution to solving our congestion woes, because it makes it easier for people to take a bike instead of a car to get to their destination, and people are standing up and taking action. Cycle Toronto is working with university students to file a Charter of Rights and Freedoms challenge arguing that removing these bike lanes threatens people’s liberty. Many organizations are looking at protesting and even using direct action if the government chooses to move ahead. It took years for us to convince the City of Toronto to create space for cyclists on our roads and people are not going to give up these bike lanes without a fight.
The Strand: In your statement regarding the Auditor General’s report, the first issue you discussed was the province’s handling of the opioid epidemic. What are your thoughts on the Ford government’s new strategy of shutting down safe injection sites? How do you feel the province should best address those issues, especially in Toronto?
Jessica Bell: We are constantly hearing stories from parents whose adult children have died because of a drug overdose. It is especially concerning because the drugs that are available on our streets are often toxic and dangerous. These drugs are mixed with a whole slew of different chemicals and people often do not know what they’re using, which leads to an overdose. Evidence from the health community has been very clear that consumption and treatment sites are a very effective way to stop people from dying. It provides them with a safe room they can go to where they can use drugs of their own under the watchful eye of a healthcare worker who can revive them if they overdose. They’re not given drugs. That’s what a consumption and treatment site is. They also provide needle exchanges so someone can exchange their dirty needles for new needles, making them less likely to share needles. When we share needles with other people, it increases the likelihood of transmitting HIV or hepatitis, which puts an unnecessary strain on our healthcare system. Consumption and treatment sites are often places for people who are struggling, maybe people who do not have a lot of trust in the healthcare system, to have a healthcare worker they can talk to who can refer them and help them if they need additional support from the healthcare system. By closing these consumption sites, the Conservatives have put ideology and short-term political gain over the use of evidence to solve our drug crisis. There is no evidence to suggest that shutting down consumption sites is going to make the issue of drug abuse and drug use go away. It will just lead to more people dying. We need a harm reduction approach where we keep people alive if they are addicted to drugs, to stop them from overdosing, and we can provide comprehensive addiction treatment, including health care and mental health care to people when they’re ready.
The Strand: I’ve heard from different community justice organizations and parole officers about how bad the situation has become, especially since pre-pandemic levels. It sounds like when everything shut down, not enough care was directed to unhoused people, leaving them on the sidelines as the situation became much worse.
Jessica Bell: We never fully recovered from the pandemic. We also hear from local police officers within the Kensington area — an area with high rates of homelessness and addiction — that sending people to jail is not the answer. There are very few places that a police officer can send someone if they’re using on the street. If you take them to the emergency rooms, they’ll go, they’ll be treated, and then they’re released again. There are very few shelter beds available. There’s no permanent housing available, and police know this full well and they know that jail is not a long-term answer. There needs to be far more comprehensive options available to people who are struggling from addiction, and right now it’s just not there.
The Strand: For university students who care about these issues and their communities, what are the best ways to get involved in both local and provincial politics?
Jessica Bell: If someone is interested in getting involved in politics or activism, I’d encourage them to look for a local volunteer group. Maybe it’s on campus, or it’s your local MPP, or a local nonprofit. Every single progressive change that we have had in Canada has happened from ordinary people getting together and getting stuff done. In almost all cases, students and young people have been leaders in that work. So own your power.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
