Refugees living in Etobicoke strip mall march to government offices to plead for action

A short 10-minute walk from Premier Doug Ford’s constituency office is where 145 refugees have been living inside several units of an Etobicoke strip mall, sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

The crowd of newcomers marched to Ford’s and MP Kristy Duncan’s office Thursday in north Etobicoke, imploring for housing.

“We need the government to step in,” said Joel, who has been in Canada for just over a month after coming from Nigeria.

Among those unhoused and marching is a 24-year-old nurse, Pricy from Uganda. She hopes to continue working in Canada.

“I sold everything, I have nothing back home,” she said. “I had to come look for something better.”

An architect from Ethiopia is also seeking asylum.

“I had to bribe my way out of my country to be here, to be safe,” shared Yohannes. “We came here thinking that Canada would be our home forever so we need more help from the government.”

Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles tells CityNews they’ve spent $200,000, maxing out their personal credit cards to provide basic essentials, like food, shelter and medication to care for asylum seekers, who would otherwise be sleeping on the street.

Multiple units in the strip mall on Albion Road have been transformed into living quarters to meet the need. Rows upon rows of beds now take over the basement of a restaurant, a former TD bank and several business offices, while a gym in the same plaza gives the refugees a place to shower.

Others, like a local mosque, have stepped in to help the church and businesses but Miller said the government’s support has been absent. As more refugees reach out for help, the church is barely holding on and is frustrated by what they say is political finger-pointing.

“Winter is coming. If these people are not acclimatized and educated and get into homes right now, I believe we will lose some of those lives. We almost lost someone last week and that to me is critical.” said Nadine Miller, a director at Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles. “We are in a 9-1-1 situation.”

The city and province have both said Ottawa needs to step up.

While the federal government has committed $97 million to Toronto through an existing program that covers interim housing for asylum seekers, City Council says $157 million is needed to cover the costs of supporting existing refugee claimants in the shelter system.

Mayor Olivia Chow called on Ottawa to contribute to the city’s and province’s recently announced $14-million joint program to permanently house over 1,300 people in the shelter system.

“I would wish the federal government would say, ‘Yes, we will provide two-thirds and play our role’,” Chow remarked when asked about the situation on Thursday. “Eventually it will come, I hope. It would provide those who are living in churches a real solution.”

She added that she’s asked the city manager to see what other supports can be made available to these churches.

“Whether it’s purchasing food or supplies, any number of ways that we can support them and the city manager said they would.”

The churches are also able to access donations through the DonateTO program, said Chow.

The province referenced the joint program, expressing that the federal government should be contributing two-thirds of the cost of this program.

“We are once again urging the federal government to join us in supporting these vulnerable newcomers,” read a statement from the Premier’s office.

Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schreiner also called on the federal government and the province to step up.

“Housing is largely a provincial jurisdiction. The premier needs to step up to the plate as well and make sure we’re not relying on churches and community groups to fill those gaps. Even though we’re grateful they are right now.”

The church said help is needed now not only housing but a pathway for each and every one of these newcomers who are facing bureaucratic red tape.

“Some of the refugees haven’t even been in Canada for three months so they don’t have Canadian credit. They can’t just rent somewhere. We need some kind of pathway to be set in place,” said Miller.

“We’re asking the governments to speak to each other. Our goal is not to put blame on any government … Our goal is to say that we need help.”