City councillors decide that people freezing to death isn’t a public health crisis.
Yesterday, despite the recommendations by the Toronto Board of Health and in contradiction to the statement by the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Toronto City Council voted against taking action to prevent the deaths and worsening health of people experiencing homelessness by expanding warming centre hours.
Toronto Board of Health
On January 16, 2023, three councillors presented a motion at a Toronto Board of Health meeting regarding the cold weather and its effects on those experiencing homelessness.
Councillor Ausma Malik (Ward 10 - Spadina-Fort York) Councillor Alejandra Bravo (Ward 9 - Davenport) Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 4 - Parkdale-High Park) |
Four recommendations were made to protect individuals in need while Toronto's shelter system is unable to sufficiently support them:
Direct the Medical Officer of Health to establish a working table, including physicians, medical experts who work with people experiencing homelessness, and people with lived experience, to conduct a review of the intersection of health and homelessness, and provide the results of the review and any recommendations to the Medical Officer of Health, for a report back to the Board at the earliest opportunity.
Request the Medical Officer of Health to support the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration in their review of all policies and procedures related to the opening and operations of Emergency Warming Centres as directed in Item 2023.EC1.9.
Recommend that City Council declare a public health crisis in the City of Toronto based on systemic failure of all three levels of government to provide adequate 24-hour, drop-in and respite indoor spaces, and call for the immediate provision of safe, accessible 24-hour respite spaces that are accessible through walk-in access.
Recommend that Toronto City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter Support and Housing Administration to provide 24/7 indoor warming locations until April 15, 2023, possibly including City of Toronto Warming Centres, and locations provided by community organizations, including faith-based groups, that would provide low-barrier, walk-in access to people in need of a safe place to spend the night.
The motion passed, with the next step being to bring the motion to the full Toronto City Council.
Toronto City Council
However, a motion to amend the item moved by Councillor Michael Thompson was carried instead, 15-11. The amended item would reject recommendations 3 and 4 outlined previously, basically saying that the provincial/federal governments should act instead.
This was even after 2 councillors (Dianne Saxe & Lily Cheng) added the terms, ""use their best efforts to," and "subject to budget approval" respectively in the fourth recommendation.
The new recommendations adopted in the amended motion that passed have little remaining in them reminiscent of the original motion:
City Council call on the provincial government to require all large municipalities in Ontario to provide shelter space proportionate to their population, and that the Federal Government provide funding and support for refugees seeking emergency shelter in Toronto.
City Council request the General Manager, Shelter Support and Housing Administration to include, in the upcoming report to the Economic and Community Development Committee, the feasibility of providing 24/7 drop in spaces either at City of Toronto facilities or at locations provided by community/faith based institution.
Who was against declaring homelessness a public health crisis and providing 24/7 indoor warming locations?
But they must have had a good reason, right? Their decision had to have been informed by professionals?
Not at all. These 15 councillors made this decision despite being urged to pass the motion by:
The Toronto Board of Health
The Ontario Human Rights Commission
The Toronto Academic Health Science Network
Unity Health Toronto
1700+ concerned health providers, people with lived experience, community workers, and residents
150+ faith leaders
The City of Toronto has made it clear they don't care about unhoused people, but they do care about:
Funding the police
Toronto Mayor John Tory has proposed a budget increase of $48.3 million for 2023, which would bring the total budget to over $1.1 billion
Clearing encampments
Nearly $2 million was spent by the city in the summer of 2021 to clear homeless encampments in Trinity Bellwoods, Alexandra Park, and Lamport Stadium. Why couldn't that money have been used to help establish stable housing for those evicted?
Anyhow, Toronto City Council has asked city staff to look at the feasibility of keeping spaces open 24/7 during the winter months and to report back on April 25. However, this means that no change to the city's warming centre network will be in effect this winter season.
Gordon Tanner, the Director of Homelessness Initiatives and Prevention Services at the City of Toronto reported preliminary estimates of $400,000 per month to activate a warming centre in a city owned building. Considering how quickly action was taken to add police patrols on the TTC recently, despite there being no dedicated funding for it, if they really wanted to, they would.
Current Conditions Required for Opening of Warming Centres
Toronto has four warming centres that together have a capacity of 195 people. However, there are over 10,000 people in Toronto who are homeless on any given night.
These warming centres open at 7pm on the days when an Extreme Cold Weather Alert is issued by the City’s Medical Officer of Health based on a forecast from Environment and Climate Change Canada of -15˚ C or colder, or a wind chill of -20˚ C or colder. They remain open until noon on the day an alert is terminated.
Advocates say that not only is this threshold arbitrary, but emphasize how the research shows that the majority of hypothermia cases in people experiencing homelessness (72%) occur in temperatures warmer than -15 C˚, during periods of low and moderate cold stress.
A disproportionate number of unhoused people come from racialized and newcomer communities due to factors such as discrimination, language barriers, historical trauma, and colonization. Additionally, 3/4 people experiencing homelessness also experience mental illness.
How can we address the unique challenges different marginalized communities face when we are failing to even acknowledge that this issue is a public health crisis?
Is It Really That Cold of a Winter?
Unity Health Toronto, a hospital network in Toronto, has said that it has seen an increase in cold-related injuries like hypothermia and frostbite this winter.
Additionally, its hospitals have been seeing injuries from strategies used to survive outside, like sleeping in unsafe areas or overdoses due to substance use, along with unhoused patients coming to emergency departments to warm up. One man even vandalized a Walmart to get arrested and his only request when taken to the emergency department in handcuffs was for "food and shelter.”
Toronto doctor and member of Health Providers Against Poverty (HPAP) Adriana Di Stefano has said that cold-related injuries are preventable, and can be traumatic for people experiencing homelessness, who often don't have access to follow-up care.
"The solution seems very simple: provide shelter, provide warming centres, provide supportive housing, provide long-term housing. There's a lot of talk about these things but we need action now, because it's cold now. The injuries are happening now, the hospitals are overloaded now."
Current Action Items
Donate your time, money, and/or resources to local charities helping unhoused people (ex. Fred Victor)
If you live in Toronto: On February 14, Toronto City Council meets to vote on the City’s 2023 operating budget and 10-year capital plan - let John Tory and/or your councillor know your thoughts
If you live in Canada/Ontario: Contact your MP/MPP about the need to implement evidence-informed harm reduction strategies
Find your MP at www.ourcommons.ca/members/en
If you live in Canada: Sign an open petition from https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Home/Index
Visit https://workupstream.wixsite.com/website/resources for more ideas
Reminder: Policing poverty doesn't make communities safer. Prioritizing social supports does. The system "failure" we're seeing is a policy choice.
References
Balintec, V. (2023). Toronto mayor John Tory wants to boost police budget by nearly $50M. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/tory-police-budget-toronto-mayor-1.6702270
City of Toronto. (2023). Item - 2023.HL1.6. Retrieved from https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2023.HL1.6
City of Toronto. (n.d.). Warming centres. Retrieved from https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/housing-shelter/homeless-help/warming-centres-2/
Fred Victor. (n.d.). Facts about homelessness in Toronto. Retrieved from https://www.fredvictor.org/facts-about-homelessness-in-toronto/
Fred Victor. (n.d.). Ways to donate and help homeless people. Retrieved from https://www.fredvictor.org/help-homeless-support-us/
Freeman, J. (2023). Toronto says no to immediate 24/7 warming centres, but will study the idea further. CTV News. Retrieved from https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-says-no-to-immediate-24-7-warming-centres-but-will-study-the-idea-further-1.6264667
Griffin, T. (2023). Calls grow to declare Toronto homelessness a public health crisis after extreme cold. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/extreme-cold-homelessness-toronto-1.6737754
Homeless Hub. (n.d. a). About homelessness – community services. Retrieved from https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/service-provision/community-services
Homeless Hub. (n.d. b). About homelessness – specific populations. Retrieved from https://www.homelesshub.ca/about-homelessness/population-specific/racialized-communities
Jeffords, S. (2023a). Bid to open warming centres 24/7 for the unhoused rejected by Toronto city council. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/warming-centre-rejects-motion-1.6741544
Jeffords, S. (2023b). Unhoused face 'life or death,' advocates say as Toronto looks at expanding warming centre hours. CBC News. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/council-warming-centre-debate-1.6738761
Lavoie, J. (2023). Faith leaders demand meeting with Toronto mayor after unhoused person freezes to death. CTV News. Retrieved from https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/faith-leaders-demand-meeting-with-toronto-mayor-after-unhoused-person-freezes-to-death-1.6219574
Rider, D., & Hasham, A. (2023). Open warming centres 24-7, Toronto board of health urges. Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2023/01/16/open-warming-centres-24-7-toronto-board-of-health-urges-calling-lack-of-cold-weather-services-a-crisis.html
Rosen, B. (2023). Housing crisis: Harsh reality of those navigating Toronto’s shelter system, on brink of homelessness. Global News. Retrieved from https://globalnews.ca/news/9445818/toronto-housing-crisis/
Vincent, D. (2021). Toronto spent nearly $2 million clearing homeless encampments in Trinity Bellwoods, Alexandra Park and Lamport Stadium. Toronto Star. Retrieved from https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/09/17/toronto-spent-nearly-2-million-clearing-homeless-encampments-in-parks-this-summer.html
Zhang, P., Wiens, K., Wang, R., Luong, L., Ansara, D., Gower, S., Bassil, K., & Hwang, S. W. (2019). Cold weather conditions and risk of hypothermia among people experiencing homelessness: Implications for prevention strategies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(18), 3259. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183259
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