'It's done': Ont. premier calls woman to tell her that shelter won't be opening in her neighbourhood

When Cathy Link answered her phone Wednesday morning, she said she was stunned to hear Ontario Premier Doug Ford on the other end.

She was even more surprised when he told her the province was pulling the plug on controversial plans to put an emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness in her neighbourhood in St. Catharines, Ont.

"I think I even let out a scream," she told CBC News, expressing shock that the premier was calling her directly with what she considered welcome news.

Link is one of the residents living around Bunting and Dunkirk roads, just south of the Garden City Skyway, who have expressed concerns about plans by Niagara's regional government to put a shelter on a vacant site at 154 Bunting Road.

The region needs to open a new shelter in St. Catharines by year's end because its existing lease at a temporary shelter on Riordon Street is set to expire. Regional officials have also emphasized that such facilities are crucial in getting people who are unhoused into safe, stable housing.

But at a city council meeting and a regional committee meeting in July, some residents of the proposed site on Bunting Road argued the shelter would result in vandalism, garbage, and intravenous drug users discarding dirty syringes in Douglas Park, which is kitty-corner to the site.

"People have picnics there, kids play on the playground, and we always have baseball and tournaments there," said Link. "It's always busy.

"I was worried about the kids. They'd lose their safety zone. To me it was a bad choice."

Link had texted Ford to express those fears, using a cell phone number Coun. Jackie Lindal shared with residents to contact the premier with their concerns over the proposed site.

"He's been replying ever since and he's been keeping me updated," she said.

"He said they're still looking into it and he's trying to see what he can do," she said. "Ten minutes later he called me [again] and said the lease has been pulled and it's not happening. He said, 'it's done.'"

The region confirmed in a statement to CBC News on Wednesday that lease negotiations for the Bunting Road site have been terminated.

That leaves the region still searching for another site by the end of the year.

"Niagara Region remains committed to securing an appropriate shelter site in St. Catharines and will continue working with the local municipality, community partners, service providers and other levels of government to support a safe, well-managed and housing-focused shelter," housing services director Cameron Banach said in the statement.