Rickford dismisses concerns about his shutdown of Kenora shelter with “mind his business” remark: Mamakwa

SIOUX LOOKOUT – Kiiwetinoong NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa issued the following statement after Minister Greg Rickford told Mamakwa to “mind his business” after he called on Rickford to ensure that proper supports were in place for people without homes using a Kenora shelter that Rickford shut down without notice.

“I called on Minister Greg Rickford for support and answers on the shelter and homelessness in Kenora. His reply was ‘Sol should mind his business.’

When people without homes are forced from their only dwelling of safety without adequate notice or alternative, it stirs the compassion in all of us. Northwestern Ontario needs its leaders to have concrete plans to avoid disasters, especially those that adversely affect our disproportionately marginalized community members.

Minister Rickford’s callous comment illustrates the depth of his disregard for the people without homes in the region. It is also clear that he is struggling to empathize and to actualize Reconciliation in real terms.

People in Kenora, and in the North, deserve better than that.”