Looking directly into news cameras on Wednesday, mayor-elect Olivia Chow put the blame for unhoused refugees sleeping on the street on the shoulders of the federal government.Ottawa “is not paying a cent right now for refugee housing,” Chow told reporters in Scarborough after the first of her three “transition” meetings about housing, mental health and homelessness with a range of experts.Asylum seekers have been caught in a battle between the city and federal government over scarce shelter resources, and the city has said that refugees seeking emergency beds in Toronto’s non-refugee-specific shelters will be redirected to Ottawa-funded services. In practice, many have been forced to sleep outside. “I wasn’t the mayor at the time when the policy came into being,” Chow said, but did not commit to reversing it when she formally takes office next week. Instead, citing her recent conversation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she said she “wants to remain hopeful” that the federal and provincial governments will come to the table to solve this crisis because there is currently no shelter space available. In a recent statement to the Star, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said hundreds of millions in funds have been allocated to cities including for housing assistance and settlement service providers. The city has contended Toronto’s greater needs, due to a higher number of refugees, are not being met.Chow’s transition meeting on Wednesday focused on hearing from those involved in a “community-focused development” in Scarborough’s Golden Mile that she touts as an example that should be used across the city. The project is expected to include more than 30,000 mixed-income housing units — including some that are deeply affordable — along with retail and office spaces. “I’m a very impatient person,” Chow said. “There is so much to do, so much to learn and so much goodwill out there.”She spoke with representatives from the United Way of Greater Toronto, community organizations and private companies including BMO, SunLife and the developer Daniels Corporation about how the development project includes training local residents to be construction workers and to handle insurance claims.“We will showcase this and see if we can persuade other communities to follow the lead of this Golden Mile example.”Alyshah Hasham is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Reach her via email: ahasham@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @alysanmati
Looking directly into news cameras on Wednesday, mayor-elect Olivia Chow put the blame for unhoused refugees sleeping on the street on the shoulders of the federal government.
Ottawa “is not paying a cent right now for refugee housing,” Chow told reporters in Scarborough after the first of her three “transition” meetings about housing, mental health and homelessness with a range of experts.
Asylum seekers have been caught in a battle between the city and federal government over scarce shelter resources, and the city has said that refugees seeking emergency beds in Toronto’s non-refugee-specific shelters will be redirected to Ottawa-funded services. In practice, many have been forced to sleep outside.
“I wasn’t the mayor at the time when the policy came into being,” Chow said, but did not commit to reversing it when she formally takes office next week. Instead, citing her recent conversation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, she said she “wants to remain hopeful” that the federal and provincial governments will come to the table to solve this crisis because there is currently no shelter space available.
In a recent statement to the Star, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said hundreds of millions in funds have been allocated to cities including for housing assistance and settlement service providers. The city has contended Toronto’s greater needs, due to a higher number of refugees, are not being met.
Chow’s transition meeting on Wednesday focused on hearing from those involved in a “community-focused development” in Scarborough’s Golden Mile that she touts as an example that should be used across the city. The project is expected to include more than 30,000 mixed-income housing units — including some that are deeply affordable — along with retail and office spaces.
“I’m a very impatient person,” Chow said. “There is so much to do, so much to learn and so much goodwill out there.”
She spoke with representatives from the United Way of Greater Toronto, community organizations and private companies including BMO, SunLife and the developer Daniels Corporation about how the development project includes training local residents to be construction workers and to handle insurance claims.
“We will showcase this and see if we can persuade other communities to follow the lead of this Golden Mile example.”
Alyshah Hasham is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Reach her via email: ahasham@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @alysanmati
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