Warming centres open in Toronto as city grapples with extreme cold weather

The City of Toronto has opened its three warming centres as sub-zero temperatures hit the city.

The sites, located a Metro Hall at 55 John St., Scarborough Civic Centre at 150 Borough Dr., and Mitchell Field Community Centre at 89 Church Ave. in North York, opened their doors Friday at 7 p.m. and are expected to remain open throughout the weekend.

The downtown site can accommodate up to 45 people, while the one in Scarborough has 17 spaces. The third warming centre in Willowdale has room for 50 vulnerable individuals.

Anyone in need of a safe and warm indoor space is welcome to stop by to rest, have a snack, and use the washroom. Referrals to emergency space in the city’s shelter system are also offered to unhoused community members who attend these sites.

Typically, Toronto’s warming centres are activated when the city’s Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health declares an extreme cold weather alert based on a forecast from Environment Canada that is -15 C or colder, or when there’s a wind chill of -20 C or colder.

An extreme weather alert can also be issued when the forecast includes factors that increase the impact of cold weather on health like precipitation, low daytime temperatures, or several days and nights of cold weather in a row.

Currently in Toronto, it’s minus 10 C, but it feels more like 19 Celsius with the wind chill. Saturday’s expected high is minus 6 C.

The existence of these alert stems from a June 1996 report of the Homeless Emergency Action Task Force that called for a response to the increased number of people experiencing homelessness who needed services. They were first implemented in Toronto during the winter of 1996-1997.

Toronto Public Health’s Cold Weather Response Plan, which provides a framework for implementing and coordinating cold weather preparedness and response activities that focus on reducing the negative health impacts of cold weather conditions, is in effect annually from Nov. 15 to April 15.

Warming centres are also one aspect of Toronto’s 2022/23 Winter Services Plan for those experiencing homelessness, which the city said also includes opening 1,000 more shelter spaces on top of the more than 8,000 spaces already provided every night to vulnerable residents.

In recent weeks, advocates and supporters have pushed for the City of Toronto to immediately open more warming centres and make them available 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the coldest months of the year.

Among other things, they also want the city to end encampment evictions and the destruction of survival gear, keep the current shelter spaces open, including the five shelter hotels slated for closing in 2023, and add an additional 2,700 non-congregate spaces within the regular shelter system.

Further, advocates are demanding the City of Toronto allocate more funds in its upcoming budget for additional shelter spaces as well as increased social services and supports for the city’s vulnerable residents.