Toronto city council sounds alarm on planned federal cuts to shelter funding program

Julia Alevato · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 27, 2025 4:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Toronto assembly is sounding the alarm this week aft a caller study highlights large national backing cuts that volition wounded the city's quality to assistance newcomers who tin find themselves relying connected section shelters and different services.

Gord Tanner, wide manager of Toronto Shelter and Support Services, told councillors that the national government's planned national cuts to the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) volition driblet from 95 per cent this twelvemonth to 75 per cent successful 2026 and 50 per cent successful 2027.

The national programme is the main root of backing for Toronto's exile response, and reimburses 95 per cent of the city's expenses, the metropolis says.

More than 12,000 radical utilized the city's structure facilities each time this winter, and 50 per cent of them were newcomers.  

Mayor Olivia Chow described the cuts arsenic a "serious problem."

Toronto brings successful the astir immigrants anyplace successful Canada, according to the metropolis unit report. The national backing chopped means the city's quality to assistance those newcomers volition beryllium diminished, the caller study said.

The study says the national cuts are tied to levels successful the migration levels plan, with "a backing look accounting for past arrivals and aboriginal admissions."

This concern is adjacent much successful flux with a national predetermination underway. 

"I anticipation that each enactment that is moving takes this exile lodging colony services seriously," said Chow. 

Chow's motions to ask the national authorities not to trim backing for refugees successful shelters implicit the coming years, to grow the explanation of asylum claimants, and to found a exile lodging benefit were approved astatine assembly connected Thursday. 

CBC Toronto has reached retired to the national authorities for comment.

Council discusses ombudsman's report

Also connected Thursday, Ombudsman Kwame Addo presented a report, primitively released successful December, that recovered the city's determination to halt allowing exile claimants entree to its structure beds was anti-Black racism and  "poorly thought out, planned for, and communicated."

In presenting the report, Addo said helium was arrogant of it and stood by his findings.

He urged assembly members to follow his 14 recommendations for the city, which were antecedently denied by metropolis manager Paul Johnson erstwhile the study was released.

"I bash not hold with the findings," Johnson wrote successful a missive to Addo successful December. 

Among the 14 recommendations made by Addo, were: a wide process for documenting and communicating eligibility changes that impact exile claimants, grooming for unit connected the city's ain anti-Black racism investigation instrumentality and connected lodging arsenic a quality right, and strengthening accountability and oversight mechanisms to guarantee decisions align with the city's previously-established commitments and policies.

Coun. Chris Moise thanked the ombudsman for his study findings astatine assembly connected Thursday 

"A Black antheral was penning this report, penning astir the experiences of Black radical who person been connected the street, and having to travel to assembly to speech astir this contented from a distance, that's difficult," said Moise astatine the assembly meeting.

WATCH | Refugees slept connected Toronto sidewalks: 

In November 2022, the metropolis decided to halt allowing exile claimants entree to wide structure strategy beds, the ombudsman study says. 

Oddo said connected Thursday that the city's determination to halt allowing exile claimants entree to the structure strategy went against the Ontario Human Rights Code. 

The city's determination was publically announced six months aboriginal successful May 2023. According to the report, unit and elected officials said astatine the clip that exile claimants would beryllium referred to national supports due to the fact that of a deficiency of backing from the state and national government.  

In June 2023, CBC Toronto reported refugees were sleeping connected Toronto streets aft being turned distant from the city's structure system. Addo said successful his study that the refugees were predominantly Black and from African countries. 

A period later, metropolis assembly amended its argumentation to guarantee everyone "regardless of status" was capable to entree the structure strategy erstwhile beds were available.

"It is unacceptable that radical get successful Canada and upwind up connected a sidewalk successful the rain," said Councillor Gord Perks astatine assembly connected Thursday. "It's unacceptable that the City of Toronto didn't person successful spot the close tools to beryllium capable to negociate that."