'A huge shame': Asylum seekers sleeping on the streets of Toronto as city, feds argue over who should foot the bill

Advocates are calling on all levels of government to do more to address what they call a 'human rights disaster' as asylum seekers are stranded on the streets of Toronto and the municipal and federal governments argue over who should foot the bill to provide them with shelter.

Advocates say it’s “a huge shame” that asylum seekers are being stranded on the streets of Toronto as the city and federal government argue over who should foot the bill to shelter them, and are calling on all levels of government to do more to address the issue.

In recent days, a few dozen people have been seen sleeping in an encampment on the sidewalk outside a referral centre for housing assistance and emergency shelter in downtown Toronto.

Diana Chan McNally, a harm reduction case manager at Toronto’s All Saints Church and homelessness advocate, called the issue “egregious.”

“This is a human rights disaster. Folks are coming from places because they are actively fleeing trauma. And what happens when they get here? We're inflicting trauma on them again by rendering them unhappy again, on a sidewalk,” McNally told CTVNews.ca.

“This is absolutely a huge shame.”

Saman Tabasinejad, acting executive director of Progress Toronto, echoed those remarks.

“If Canada really wants to claim the title of being a human rights defender, as being a welcoming place for newly arrived refugees, we need to really put our money where our mouth is,” Tabasinejad told CTVNews.ca.