Most of us can remember the scenes from summer 2023. Dozens – sometimes up to 100- African asylum seekers sleeping outside in downtown Toronto night after night, after having been denied access to the City’s emergency shelter system. This was the result of a decision that came in November 2022, when the City of Toronto decided to stop allowing refugee claimants access to its base shelter beds, making the decision public in May 2023, when it began redirecting refugees to federal services instead.
Last week, the Ombudsman released a report investigating these events. The report found that the City’s decision was inconsistent with City policies; it lacked accountability including proper documentation of who approved the decision and why; it led to harmful impacts and unhelpful referrals for refugees and; it was a decision based on systemic discrimination, specifically anti-Black racism, as most of the refugee claimants affected were of African descent and Black.
The report made 14 recommendations to help strengthen fairness and transparency of the City’s shelter system. See bio for the full report and its recommendations.
The City Manager’s Office continues to state that he does not accept the report and will not direct the City to implement the 14 recommendations.
