'Unacceptable conditions:' Protesters rally for more shelter supports ahead of Toronto council meeting
The high noon sun bounced off City Hall’s two towers, but the ground below was still iced over and cold. Nonetheless, dozens of Torontonians laid down on the frozen square Monday, dramatizing sleeping on the street.
“Life is really, really fragile and really worth protecting, and that’s at the bare minimum what the city should be doing to ensure that people don’t actually have to sleep on the pavement,” Susan Bender, manager of the Toronto Drop-In Network, told CTV News Toronto.
The protesters rallying outside the doors of Toronto City Hall called on council to increase shelter spaces and other social supports, ahead of a series of council votes that would determine the fate of certain temporary shelters and warming centres, as well as operating spending.
“We see people sleeping outside and in stairwells, trying to stay in coffee shops and ride the TTC all night,” one protester said. “It’s really unacceptable conditions.”
The Shelter Housing Justice Network (SHJN) is calling on city council to keep warming centres open 24-7 for the rest of the winter, instead of operating them only when the temperature drops to -15 C. According to city data, 99 per cent of warming centre spaces were occupied on Friday during the extreme cold weather warning.
“I’ve lost a lot of friends, just from being homeless, friends that were frozen to death, that passed out in the cold and then were found deceased,” Kat Clouse, who used to be homeless, told CTV News Toronto.
Council will also consider Tuesday a call for the declaration of homelessness as a public health crisis in Toronto.
The SHJN is also calling on council to keep the doors open on five shelters that opened during the pandemic and are slated to close this year, as the city transitions away from the temporary sites.
It is also asking that the proposed nearly $50-million increase to the police budget be redirected to funding safe shelters, instead of more officers on the street and in the transit system.
“The reality is that people who are unhoused might be riding the train to stay warm because there are no options for people to go,” shouted one protester.
“Mayor Tory’s primary concern in winter months, and all year, is to make sure the City of Toronto is continuing to support our most vulnerable residents,” Mayor John Tory’s office told CTV News Toronto in a statement, adding that there are 9,000 shelter beds in the city’s 2023 budget, up from 6,000 pre-pandemic.
But a December city staff report indicated that despite this increase, the shelter system is at full capacity most nights.
“I just don’t want to see it again,” Clouse said of the deaths related to the extreme cold. “It’s really got to stop.”
City council meets Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
RCMP not investigating possible foreign interference cases related to Chiu, Dong: Duheme
Canada's federal police force is not investigating any possible instances of foreign interference in the cases of former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu and Liberal-turned-Independent MP Han Dong, RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme says.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Air France flight from Paris to Seattle lands in Iqaluit after heat smell in cabin
A plane travelling from Paris to Seattle was forced to make an emergency landing in Iqaluit after there was a heat smell in the cabin during the flight.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca