Toronto church Revivaltime Tabernacle says it will no longer shelter asylum claimants
Revivaltime Tabernacle, a church that took in several hundred recent asylum claimants over the past few months in response to Toronto's shelter space crisis, says it will no longer be open as a shelter.
Pastor Judith James says that recent asylum seekers to Canada are no longer sheltered at the church as of Thursday and that previously postponed church services will resume.
She says that all 230 asylum seekers sheltering at the church have been moved to a temporary hotel or municipal shelter per an agreement with the City of Toronto.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Revivaltime Tabernacle, a Christian and principally African Canadian church in Toronto's Downsview area, had sheltered nearly 700 people in shoulder-to-shoulder cots lain throughout large basement presentation and Sunday school rooms since July.
Toronto has seen an increased arrival of asylum claimants, which has challenged its shelter system.
In the 20 months leading up to May, the number of asylum claimants requesting shelter from the city grew 500 per cent, from a low of 530 people per day in September 2021 to more than 2,800 per day.
Then-deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie said the city's shelters were at splitting capacity and on May 31 announced that without an additional $97 million from Ottawa, Toronto's municipal shelters would no longer take in asylum seekers.
James says her church was the answer to an "emergency crisis" following the city's shelter closure. Revivaltime Tabernacle, North York's Dominion Church International, Etobicoke's Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles and community centres throughout the GTA subsequently took it upon themselves to offer free shelter in their buildings, Airbnbs and residential units rented out of pocket. Some asylum seekers were sleeping outside near the city's shelter referral centre.
Toronto received $97 million in additional federal funding on July 18, which McKelvie had said was necessary to continue dedicated shelter services for asylum seekers.
Dominion Church International has yet to announce an anticipated end date for their shelter service, and James says that Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles will continue to run as a "welcome respite centre" where recent arrivals to Canada can receive advice and support regarding immigration.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2023
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.
What's causing the catastrophic rainfall in Kenya?
The torrential rains and deadly floods that have hit Kenya since March have been some of the worst in the country in recent years. Here's how factors combined to create the deadly deluge.