Advocates claim racism as African asylum seekers forced to sleep on Toronto sidewalk

Dozens of asylum seekers camped out on a downtown Toronto sidewalk were joined by angry advocates on Monday who accused politicians of racism and dereliction of duty for welcoming the refugee claimants with open arms, but greeting them with closed doors once they arrived.

The makeshift camp outside Toronto’s shelter intake office at 128 Peter Street continues to grow, with some calling it home for as long as four weeks because of a lack of space at City shelters.

The asylum seekers sleeping on the sidewalk are all from African nations.

“If we were not Black would we have been treated this way?” asked Kabu Asante, African Canadian Social Development Council. “That is the question we need to be asking ourselves.”

Canada’s first Black MP, Jean Augustine, decried the failure to find shelter space for the desperate people. “This is not the Canada that we are building. This is not the Canada that speaks about diversity.”

She was joined by an infuriated Zanana Akande, a former Ontario MPP.

“We have Black people, let me be clear, Black people sleeping on the street. Women trying to cover themselves adequately while they sleep and I must tell you I am offended.”

Pastor Darlington Dibie implored officials to “get the people off the streets right now, right away.”

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has placed the blame squarely on the federal government, which seems to have been caught off guard by the situation despite orchestrating it.

On Friday, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino tap danced when pressed for answers.

“This is a government that has a very strong record when it comes to supporting refugees when they come to Canada,” he said.

While many volunteers have been trying to help the refugee claimants with food and other necessities, one Toronto businessman, Mohamad Fakih, has stepped up, donating $20,000 of his own money and promising to fundraise to cover the cost of hotel rooms or apartments.

Fakih, an immigrant who came to Canada with nothing and now owns Paramount Fine Foods, says it could cost up to $10,000 a day to provide food and housing.

“What we need to do is to get immediately a roof over their head and try to restore dignity,” he told CityNews. “For us Canadians, it doesn’t look good on all of us, I mean this is the Canadian dream that we need to protect.”

A meeting to try and find a solution will be held on Tuesday with all three levels of government.

Meanwhile, advocates have issued an open letter, calling for the immediate resignation of the general manager of the City of Toronto’s Shelter Support and Housing Administration (SSHA).

The letter calls on Mayor Chow to fire general manager Gord Tanner if he does not resign.