Toronto ombudsman investigating shelter denial for asylum seekers, refugees
Investigation to probe city decision that left people sleeping on streets
Toronto's ombudsman is launching an investigation into the city's decision to block asylum seekers and refugees from its shelter system — a move that made headlines earlier this year when people with nowhere else to go were left sleeping on the streets.
In a news release issued Thursday, Ombudsman Kwame Addo said it will be the first investigation to come out of the office's newly created housing unit, led by Deputy Ombudsman Reema Patel.
"All people have a right to adequate housing that is safe and secure. Allegations that this right has been infringed — particularly with a group of people fleeing persecution in their home countries — is serious and must be thoroughly investigated," Patel said in a statement.
The ombudsman's office says the investigation will focus on the city's previous decision to deny refugee claimants and asylum seekers space in city shelters that weren't specifically set up for refugees.
Staff instead referred them to federal programs — but those programs lacked any discernible presence in the city, leaving people sleeping outside a city intake shelter until churches stepped up to fill the void. That move was followed by funding announcements from multiple levels of government to open up more spaces in Toronto's overburdened shelter system.
The ombudsman's office says the investigation will consider the city's process leading up to the decision, communication of that move both with staff and the public, and whether that decision was fair and in line with city policy.
Investigators are also looking to speak with people who were involved in, or affected by, the city's decision, according to the news release. People can reach out to the office confidentially by email or by phone at 416-392-7062.
"There is no doubt that the City of Toronto is facing a housing crisis. Even so, the City has an obligation to treat all people in Toronto fairly, with dignity, respect, and care," Addo said in a statement.
"I am launching an investigation to determine if the City's decision to deny non-refugee shelter spaces to refugee claimants and asylum seekers met that obligation."