Amid cloud of criticism, city opens two more warming centres

Amid a cloud of criticism, the city continued to take steps to tackle what some have called a homeless crisis.

With Toronto under yet another extreme cold weather warning as temperatures plunged to -30 with the wind chill, the city opened two more warming centres on Thursday night – one at Metro Hall and the other at the Regent Park Community Centre.

The centres will remain open for the duration of the extreme cold weather alert.

As well, additional staff are being brought in to help get the city’s homeless to the warming centres.

“We continue to explore all options and opportunities to protect our city’s most vulnerable residents,” said Tory. “These warming centres provide accessible immediate relief during Extreme Cold Weather events and are in addition to the City’s other winter respite services.”

Tory says the city is in talks with both Ottawa and the provincial government to determine whether the armoury would be suitable as a 24-hour winter respite centre that could remain open until April 15.

He says discussions are moving along quickly and he expects an answer very soon.

The proposal to open the Moss Park Armoury, which was rejected by city council last month, gained fresh life as temperatures plummeted and led to Tory’s promise to reach out to higher orders of government to discuss the idea.

“I want to say those discussions have been going very well, have been very constructive,” he said Thursday. “. . .. I expect that we will have a resolution finalized soon.”

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said the government is working closely with Toronto and has reached out to other municipalities due to be impacted by the frigid weather.

She said protecting homeless residents from the harsh conditions is a high priority.

“It’s going to be very cold tonight,” she said. “Our immediate concern is that we work as quickly as possible with the city to make sure that there is space for anybody who needs a warm place tonight.”

The city’s ability to address the needs of the homeless is now the subject of two inquiries following confusion over the availability of spaces during the prolonged cold snap.

Advocates have said in recent days that they tried to find spots for homeless people only to be told that they were completely full. The city has said there are still beds available and blamed miscommunication for the confusion.

Calling the miscommunication “indefensible,” Tory previously said he welcomes the inquiries recently announced by the city’s general manager of shelter support as well as Toronto’s ombudsman.

The latest data from the city indicates Toronto’s shelters operated at between 94 and 95 per cent capacity on the weekend with 5,460 people staying in the shelter system on Jan. 1. Another 445 people used winter respite centres.

With files from The Canadian Press