Toronto to ask federal defence minister to open armouries to shelter refugee claimants
CBC
Toronto city council will ask the federal government in a letter on Thursday to open its armouries immediately for use as emergency shelters for refugee claimants as winter approaches.
The letter, signed by Mayor Olivia Chow and a majority of councillors, is addressed to National Defence Minister Bill Blair. The federal properties in Toronto, used by the Canadian military, include Moss Park, Fort York and Denison Armouries.
"Together, we are calling on you as Minister of National Defence to immediately open and operationalize the federal armouries in Toronto, to provide emergency indoor accommodation for refugee claimants this winter," the letter reads.
Arianne Robinson, spokesperson for Chow, said on Wednesday that the letter will be sent at the end of the day on Thursday.
The letter says Toronto is providing shelter to about 4,800 refugees but its municipal shelter system is not designed to provide housing for refugee claimants.
"It is the responsibility of the federal government to support people who have been forced to flee their homes and have arrived in Canada looking to build a new life."
Chow has previously said Toronto needs federal help to address the growing numbers of refugees in its emergency shelter system, to build more affordable housing and to fund public transit projects. The mayor met with Canada's finance minister for the first time in Toronto in late September to address the city's $1.5-billion budget deficit.
While both called the meeting positive, Finance MInister Chrystia Freeland said at the time the federal government's own fiscal position is "constrained."
The letter says the city is in a "period of exceptional need," with more than 9,000 people staying its emergency shelter system nightly, an increase from 6,000 in 2021. It says 40 per cent of people in its shelters are refugee claimants, and each night, 100 are turned away from shelters due to lack of space.
"These are people who desperately need a place to go that is warm and safe, where they can have access to the supports they need," the letter says.
The Department of National Defence has not yet commented. This story will be updated if it provides a response.
The letter says Toronto's executive committee was recently told that the number of people seeking asylum in Canada is expected to increase in the coming months.
On Oct. 31, Rema Jamous Imseis, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative to Canada, spoke to the committee, saying it is important for the city to forecast trends and to prepare for refugee claimants.
"Desperate people will always find a way to move," she told the committee.
