Advocates urge Toronto to adjust criteria to open up warming centres

Advocates for those unhoused in Toronto are concerned after warming centres remained closed on Monday night as the temperature threshold of -5 C was not reached, despite the wind chill being below that.

The current strategy, implemented on Nov. 15, is when temperatures reach -5 C, the city’s 170 spaces will be activated in four warming centres. The wind chill is not a factor which can lead to confusion.

Diane Chan McNally, with the All Saints Community Centre, said the problem is the decision is made too early, and the city is not flexible.

“When the city triggers the opening, they look at what the weather is going to be like at 7 a.m. in the morning. And then make a decision there. There’s no flexibility during the rest of the day or with changing weather conditions like we saw last night,” said McNally.

She added that there is a real worry that people can be left stranded.

“We know that people are going to be stranded outdoors in weather where they absolutely can die. Or incur cold-related injuries. There has to be a lot more flexibility.”

Russell Baker, spokesperson for the City of Toronto, said staff diligently monitor weather forecasts to see when the thresholds meet that -5 C temperature.

“City staff are waking up every morning, and they’re checking the forecast that comes in from Environment and Climate Change Canada and will be making decisions based on the information available through that tool.”

Advocates have implored the city to keep warming centres 24/7 rather than with a temperature threshold.

McNally added the current shelter system is still not enough.

“At least 300 people a day are trying to get into the shelter system and actively can’t, so we actually need these other spaces, warming centers, respite ASAP sites open ASAP and as much as possible understanding that there isn’t enough shelter.”

The Better Living Centre on the Exhibition Grounds is set to open, complete with beds already set up and waiting, but was not ready in time for the cold that has already been experienced.

Refugees staying in the shelter system who have never experienced a Canadian winter are struggling even more, according to McNally.

“They don’t even know how to stay warm. I have to teach people things like how to put hand warmers inside their gloves, how to stuff newspaper who don’t have enough layers inside their pants so they don’t actually freeze.”

“It’s devastating for people to arrive here in this kind of weather and just not know how to mitigate it at all, so I’m severely worried about people getting frostbite, losing fingers, losing toes. I’m certain that I’m going to see a lot of that this winter,” said McNally.

She said the other levels of government need to step up, including the federal government, to open up the Moss Park Armoury, which was previously used as a winter respite centre in 2018.