Toronto's city manager disagrees with Ombudsman's scathing report on refugees in shelters, calls it 'accusatory'

Refugees camp outside of a shelter intake centre on Peter Street in Toronto (Craig Wadman).

Toronto’s city manager says he disagrees with the findings of a recently released ombudsman’s report that says the city’s now-reversed decision to turn away refugee claimants and asylum seekers from its emergency shelter system lacked fairness and caused harm.

Ombudsman Toronto outlined its position in a 129-page report, which will be considered by Toronto City Council next week. The report suggested that the city erred in its decision-making and implementation process when it began referring refugees arriving at Toronto’s shelters to federal programs in June, 2023.

“Decisions that affect access to critical services and housing right must be transparent, equitable, and grounded in sound planning. In this case, the city fell short,” Toronto’s Ombudsman Kwame Addo said in a news release, adding that it “played a significant role in the emotional distress (refugees) experienced.”

“This left many of them feeling othered, invisible, and unwelcome in a city they hoped would provide safety and support.”

But City Manager Paul Johnson said he was “disheartened” by the report’s “accusatory” tone, adding that it demonstrates a “lack of understanding of the context the city was in at the time” as well as the “roles and responsibilities of other orders of government.”

“I do not agree with the findings and, subject to council’s decision on your report, I will not take any further action in response to the recommendations beyond work the city already has underway,” the city manager said in a letter accompanying the report.

At a news conference at city hall on Thursday, Johnson appeared to walk back some of his comments in the letter.

“What I said to the ombudsman was that I would receive this report and that no further action would be taken in terms of the recommendations because those recommendations require effort by staff. They require report back and more things to happen. I happen to disagree with some of the findings in this report and the need for us to action those recommendations,” he told reporters.

“But let me clear, to reject something would be to say that I do not respect the work of the ombudsman and the ombudsman’s office. That is untrue. I deeply respect it. In this case, we have some disagreements.

He said he accepts the report and will “learn from it” while continuing to “build a better shelter system here in Toronto.”

The city’s policy was ultimately scrapped, with Mayor Olivia Chow delivering a public apology to refugees for “the way they’ve been treated on the streets and the lack of dignity that they experienced.”

The aborted decision to turn away refugees from shelters stems from the City of Toronto’s inability to cope with a significant influx of displaced newcomers who arrived once the border re-opened following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aborted decision to turn away refugees from shelters stems from the City of Toronto’s inability to cope with a significant influx of displaced newcomers who arrived once the border re-opened following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In need of shelter and related services, many of these refugees found themselves in dire situations and by the spring of 2023, dozens could be seen congregating and even sleeping on the sidewalk outside downtown Toronto’s Central Intake site at 129 Peter St. as they waited for a spot in the shelter system.

Toronto’s emergency shelter system, however, was already at a breaking point, which resulted in not enough capacity to meet the needs of those who were already seeking shelter.

It also didn’t help that those already in the system were staying longer as provincial and federal rent subsidies for housing had ended.

Earlier that year, the federal government also stopped providing funds through its Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP), which supports provinces and municipalities on a cost-sharing basis to provide interim housing for refugee claimants and asylum seekers.

Facing a $1 billion budget shortfall, the City of Toronto announced that on June 1 it would start referring refugee claimants and asylum seekers who show up at full shelters to federal programs.

At that time, Toronto also started reviewing refugee claimants/asylum seekers already in its shelter system to determine who is eligible for Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s services followed by referrals to federally run hotels.

By then, they numbered 3,000 and comprised a third of the city’s shelter system.

By the spring of 2023, several Black-led and Black-serving organizations mobilized to collect funds and set up makeshift emergency shelter and aid for the refugees, some if which did so to the detriment of their own financial livelihood. The City of Toronto is now working to pay those struggling groups back.

Launched in September 2023, Ombudsman Toronto’s investigation into the city’s decision to turn away refugees from the shelter system was conducted by its newly established Housing Unit, which is led by Deputy Ombudsman (Housing) Reema Patel.

The investigation found that the decision went against key city policies, notably the Toronto Housing Charter, Access T.O., and the Toronto Shelter Standards, which aim to ensure everyone can access services, especially those in vulnerable situations.

The report also found that refugee claimants seeking shelter were referred to federal services that city staff knew were unavailable and in some cases were turned away from shelters even when beds were available. .

There was also a lack of proper documentation, Ombudsman Toronto noted, a lack of a clear record of who approved this decision and why, leading to it being implemented without a “clear or accountable process.”

The ombudsman also found that city staff received unclear instructions and inadequate guidance, which led to “confused implementation of the decision.”

And lastly, while unintended, this policy in effect “systemically discriminated” against refugee claimants and asylum seekers on the basis of race and citizenship, which is contrary to the Housing Charter, the Human Rights and Anti-Harassment/Discrimination Policy, and the Ontario Human Rights Code, the report said.

“It constituted anti-Black racism, as many of most affected refugee claimants were from African countries or of African descent,” Ombudsman Toronto said in the news release.

“The report further finds that this unfairness was prolonged for two months when staff delayed implementing City Council’s reversal of the decision.”

That happened in July 2023 but wasn’t implemented until September of that year.

Acknowledging that Toronto’s shelter system is facing “immense pressures,” Addo highlighted the “critical need” for all levels of government to do their part to address the housing crisis, but noted that “these pressures cannot justify decisions that compromise dignity and human rights.”

“Fairness must always remain at the forefront, even in the most challenging times,” he said.

Ombudsman Toronto has made 14 recommendations to “improve fairness, transparency, and the city’s adherence to the human right to adequate housing in its decision-making processes” and will be asking Toronto City Council to implement them.

Some of the key recommendation are the development of a clear process for documenting and communicating eligibility changes affecting refugees, staff training on the city’s own anti-Black racism analysis tool and on housing as a human right, consultation with refugee-claimant-serving organizations and affected communities before implementing significant changes, and improved accountability and oversight mechanisms to ensure decisions that are made align with the city’s already-established commitments and policies.

“My office launched this investigation because the public had serious questions about what happened with this decision and why. They needed and deserved clear answers,” Addo said.

“The findings in this report provide those answers and a clear path forward. Now the city has the opportunity to act.”

Mayor Olivia Chow said she welcomes the report and noted that steps have already been taken to make sure refugees were “welcome in Toronto’s shelter system.”

“I look forward to reading the Ombudsman’s report – this will need a thoughtful discussion at council – transparency is vital in Toronto’s shelter system," she wrote.

“This also needs to be a wake-up call for all orders of government. Funding for refugees needs to reflect the number of refugees seeking asylum in Toronto – currently funding is capped annually. Refugees have different needs than Toronto’s homeless population, our services need to reflect this reality and key to this is stable, predictable funding.”