The city will immediately open up 150 new shelter spaces for refugee claimants under a proposal put forward by Olivia Chow on Wednesday during her first council meeting as mayor.
And in an early test of her ability to secure support for her agenda, council approved Chow鈥檚 motion unanimously in a vote of 26-0, marking a harmonious start to her term in office.
Chow was sworn in last Wednesday and made her first order of business at this week鈥檚 meeting an urgent motion to find temporary beds for asylum seekers, some of whom have been camped outside for weeks in front of the city鈥檚 downtown referral centre.
鈥淚 want to thank everyone for being together to trust each other, to say that we鈥檙e never alone,鈥 Chow said in a speech before the vote.
She said Toronto鈥檚 Black community, refugee agencies and city staff had come together to assist the asylum seekers fleeing Uganda, Kenya and other African countries.
鈥淭his motion in front of us actually encapsulates that spirit of working together,鈥 Chow said.
In speeches on the chamber floor, council members took turns praising the new mayor鈥檚 handling of the crisis, including allies of former mayor John Tory and those who backed Chow鈥檚 rivals in the June 26 byelection.
Among them was Coun. Mike Colle (Ward 8, Eglinton-Lawrence), who endorsed candidate Ana Bail茫o in last month鈥檚 vote. He lauded Chow for working with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford to secure shelter funding this week.
Chow 鈥渄id the right thing,鈥 Colle said.
鈥淪he鈥檚 approaching it in the collaborative way. She鈥檚 being nice with Dougie, she鈥檚 being nice with the guys in Ottawa,鈥 he said, adding that the new mayor 鈥渋s not blaming, she鈥檚 looking for solutions.鈥
directed the city manager to immediately open up 150 shelter spaces for refugees and to find locations for 100 more as soon as possible. The mayor鈥檚 office said the first 150 spaces would be procured primarily through renewing contracts with hotels for shelter space.
As part of Chow鈥檚 plan, council also approved investing $6.7 million in the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit rent supplement program, funding that Chow and Ford announced earlier in the day would be matched by the province.
The plan also directed the city manager to 鈥渄evelop an outreach strategy鈥 for local property owners willing to rent to refugee claimants, to explore city partnerships with community agencies assisting asylum seekers, and to guarantee that 鈥渆veryone regardless of status is able to access the city鈥檚 shelter system.鈥
That last directive appeared to be a reversal of a policy instated in May before Chow took office, under which the city began referring asylum seekers to federal supports instead of Toronto鈥檚 at-capacity shelter system.
According to the mayor鈥檚 motion, the rent supplement funding would 鈥渋mmediately provide permanent housing to upwards of 1,350 households,鈥 and it asked the federal government to contribute the equivalent of about $27 million to the program.
After weeks of quarrelling over which level of government was responsible for housing asylum seekers, on Tuesday the federal government committed an additional $97 million to Toronto, as part of a one-time $212-million contribution to the Interim Housing Assistance Program to pay for interim housing for asylum claimants.
Federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said the money would 鈥渆nsure cities like 海角社区官网have the capacity to keep a roof over the head of asylum seekers fleeing violence, war and persecution.鈥
But in a joint statement Wednesday, Chow and Ford described the funding as a stopgap that was insufficient to meet the city鈥檚 long-term shelter needs.
The city says its shelter system accommodates about 9,000 people, more than one-third of whom are refugees. Three hundred people are turned away each night due to lack of space.
In addition to more funding, Chow鈥檚 motion asked the federal government to establish a reception centre near Pearson airport to provide centralized services for refugees.
After winning June鈥檚 mayoral byelection with 37 per cent of the vote, Chow, a veteran progressive and former New Democrat MP, faced questions about how she will advance her priorities through a council that for eight years backed Tory鈥檚 right-leaning administration.
A half-dozen councillors endorsed her campaign, fewer than the number who backed Bail茫o and far short of the majority Chow will need to get her agenda approved by the 26-member body. She has pledged not to use strong-mayor powers that would allow her to pass some motions with just one-third support.
In an apparent demonstration of her ability to build bridges, Chow was joined by about 20 council members at a press conference ahead of the meeting to announce her motion. They included Coun. Josh Matlow (Ward 12, Toronto鈥擲t. Paul鈥檚) and Coun. Brad Bradford (Ward 19, Beaches鈥擡ast York), who ran against her last month, as well as key members of Tory鈥檚 administration like Coun. Frances Nunziata (Ward 5, York South鈥擶eston).
Despite that show of unity, the new mayor signalled she does plan to install supportive councillors in positions of power at city hall. On Wednesday, she nominated two close allies to replace Tory lieutenants on council鈥檚 striking committee, the body responsible for recommending councillor appointments to key city positions.
Chow plans for the committee to meet Aug. 10 and for council to consider its recommendations at a special meeting the following week. She told council she has been meeting with members to ask what positions they鈥檙e interested in, and hoped they can all work together in a 鈥渟pirit of collaboration, of openness.鈥
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