Breaking: Toronto council declares homelessness an emergency
and Ottawa. The declaration, made alongside requests for millions of dollars in aid from higher governments, does not compel provincial or federal officials to act but is meant as a signal of the swelling crisis in Canada’s largest city.Last month, when the motion to declare an emergency emerged in consideration of a report on the city’s winter service plans, senior staff said a declaration would primarily be “symbolic,”wouldn’t compel other governments to offer up more money.
Data from March offers a snapshot of the mounting problem. Nearly 9,000 people each night, on average, were sleeping in the city’s shelter network, roughly 3,000 more than two years ago. Those numbers don’t include anyone staying in tents in ravines or along right-of-ways, sleeping on the city’s streets, weathering the night on transit or what’s known as the “hidden homeless” population, including those couch-surfing and clinging to precarious living set-ups.
Tanner has pointed to a collision of factors underpinning the surge, from soaring housing costs and sparse affordable units to inflation and income supports that are too low to keep up with the cost of living across Ontario cities. “For some people, coming to Toronto to access homelessness services is the only option when other communities have much smaller shelter systems,” he wrote in a recent report.
The result is demand that has increasingly outstripped available help. Toronto’s shelter intake office was turning away an average of 119.8 callers every day in March, nearly three times more than were left without beds in March 2021.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Already at Record-Breaking Highs, Average Toronto Rents Are Set to Keep ClimbingThe first quarter of the year has been characterized by raging rents throughout the GTA — not that anyone in the market for a rental needs the reminder. Rentalsdotca | Urbanation | TorontoTenants | toronto realestatenews rents housingmarket
Read more »
Toronto Raptors' head coach search expands to include former NBA sharpshooter JJ RedickFormer NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick was part of the first round of interviews for the Toronto Raptors head\u002Dcoaching gig.
Read more »
Toronto Raptors must improve their shooting above all this off-seasonIn an off\u002Dseason of expected change, the Raptors\u0027 focus has to be on finding more shooters
Read more »
Toronto parking cop calls out Canada Post for ignoring city's traffic lawsParking in downtown Toronto can be a downright nightmare, between constantly packed underground lots, sky-high costs per hour, and next-to-impossib...
Read more »
Toronto school gets called out for Mother's Day sign and people have thoughtsOne Toronto school came under fire this week after some parents criticized an 'exclusionary' message posted outside the school regarding ...
Read more »
The story behind why 12 Toronto streetcar tickets were found in the Titanic wreckageTwelve Toronto streetcar tickets sunk on the Titanic and were unearthed decades later on the sandy floor of the Atlantic Ocean.
Read more »