Toronto entrepreneur pledges $20K to house refugees stuck on city streets

A Toronto entrepreneur has personally pledged to donate at least $20,000 to house refugees who have been camped out in downtown Toronto for weeks.

A Toronto entrepreneur has personally pledged to donate at least $20,000 to house refugees who have been camped out in downtown Toronto for weeks.

“They don't need a handout; they need a hand up. Those people are exactly like [me when] I came here and a lot of us came here, and we need to step up for them and show them that we can do better,” Paramount Fine Foods Founder Mohamad Fakih told Newstalk1010 Monday morning.

He said advocates and volunteers are working to find a place for these refugees to live and once they secure space, he will personally foot the bill.

While Fakih encourages all levels of government to move faster on the issue that’s been described as a crisis - in the interim – he is asking other private citizens to pitch in what they can.

“It's our job. It's our Canadian dream for us to protect and to send the message that no that's not the welcome we want to provide them,” he said.

His philanthropy is aimed at bridging a gap that’s resulted from a stalemate between the city and the federal government – leaving dozens of refugees caught in the middle.

For weeks, about 30 or so people have slept outside of a shelter intake centre on Peter Street ever since the city started referring refugees to federal programs in June.