‘Change must come today’: Black-led groups call on Toronto to act on ombudsman’s refugee shelter access report
A coalition of mainly Black-led groups demanded on Friday that the city adopt recommendations from a report critical of its refusal to let refugee claimants access beds in its homeless shelter system in 2022 and 2023.
The report by Ombudsman Kwame Addo, released last week, found that the city’s decision to stop allowing refugees access to beds in its base shelter system was “poorly thought out, planned for, and communicated” and amounted to anti-Black racism. City manager Paul Johnson said he did not agree with the report’s findings.
Council received the report at its meeting on Wednesday but did not debate or discuss its recommendations.
Kizito Musabimana, chair of the African Canadian Collective, said at a news conference this week that the decision by the city to deny spaces in its shelter system to refugee claimants was “definitely systemic racism.”
Musabimana said there seems to be a lack of compassion and empathy among government officials, “a crisis of bureaucracy,” and a government system that prioritizes procedures over people. He said not only must council adopt the recommendations, but must provide timelines for implementation.
“We are speaking for all African Black refugee claimants. Today, we’re speaking for all Black people when we say change must come. Change must come today and we will take nothing less,” he said.
Musabimana said he was contacted on Friday by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who asked for a conversation about the report. He said she has indicated that she is disappointed in how the issue was handled at council and would like to apologize to the community. He said that conversation must be public.
“We all welcome that decision from the mayor and we look forward to having a conversation that is public, a conversation that involves everybody,” Musabimana said.
CBC Toronto has reached out to Chow’s office for comment but has not yet heard back. On Wednesday evening at council, Chow said she is committed to holding a meeting to discuss the report, and that meeting would include staff and councillors. It’s not clear when and where that meeting would take place.
Saleh Sheihk, a member of the advocacy group Crisis in Our City Network, said the decision to deny shelter space to refugee claimants made them feel unwelcome and made them unsafe in Toronto.
“Anti-Black racism is real, and we saw the Black refugees being treated this way. That shouldn’t be happening,” Sheihk said. “This is not just a call for action. It is a call for justice, fairness and humanity.”
Savhanna Wilson, spokesperson for the Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness, said Black community leaders, African churches, volunteers, and private citizens stepped up to meet the needs of the refugee claimants excluded from the shelter system, saying the decision harmed the refugees and denied them their basic human rights.
Wilson said those same people are stepping up to say enough is enough.
“This report demands concrete action and the City of Toronto must uphold its legal and moral obligation to realize the right to housing for everyone today,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the remedies are clear and simple: “Ensure shelter access is equitable and aligned with the Toronto Housing Charter, ensure decisions are made transparently and that impacted community members are involved in policy development, and commit to accountability to establish mechanisms to report this implementation.”
Coun. Michael Thompson, who tried unsuccessfully to reopen the discussion on Wednesday, said he wants council to reconsider the issue.
“Council didn’t want to question the ombudsman, didn’t attempt to challenge his findings, did not probe his report to discover any bias or untruth about how the damnable refugee settlement plan treated us,” he said. “No, no, no, far from it.”
“I would like to have this matter reopened at council to have a full discussion and ensure that the recommendations are accepted.”
Refugees had limited access to food, water, report says
In the report, Addo recommended any future changes to shelter eligibility should be reviewed by entities including the city’s human rights office, that shelter staff and leadership should receive anti-Black racism training, and that the city should create a strategy to engage with refugee claimants and organizations that serve them.
On Nov. 7, 2022, staff at Toronto Shelter and Support Services (TSSS) decided to stop allowing refugee claimants access to non-refugee-claimant beds due to a lack of space in the city’s shelter system, according to the report.
On May 31, 2023, the city announced the change in eligibility at a news conference, saying staff and elected officials were forced to refer refugee claimants to federal supports because of a lack of provincial and federal funding.
“The City did not measure the impact of this eligibility change; it did not track the number of refugee claimants affected, or the reason refugee claimants were not given a bed… Many refugee claimants were living on the sidewalk or in make-shift shelters with only limited access to sanitation, food and water,” the report reads.
Council reversed the change on July 19, 2022, but it took nearly two more months for the decision to be implemented and for the city to return to universal access for shelter users, the report adds.
In a news release, Addo said the city needed to be transparent and equitable in its decisions about access to critical services, but instead fell short.
“For refugee claimants, the city’s decision played a significant role in the emotional distress they experienced. This left many feeling othered, invisible, and unwelcome in a city they hoped would provide safety and support.”
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