Mayor Tory - we are in a pandemic. Without permanent housing, encampments are here to stay.

Today Mayor Tory, in a media availability made it very clear the city would continue to move people out of encampments: “the people have to cooperate with us, including some of the people who, the minute we take an encampment down, move back there and they’re doing it as much as a political act as anything else.” 

Does Mayor Tory understand the shelter system is full, is unsafe in a pandemic and encampments are a place to survive? Yes, the sites will fill up again. It will only get worse as a tsunami of homelessness takes place in the economic fallout of COVID. 

For people like the 100+ at Moss Park, it is often unknown until the day of eviction whether they will be offered a spot in a shelter, a temporary hotel or temporary apartment. Temporary. 

Right now, today, the city should provide a clear statement on the move offer and in the meantime support this and other encampments with water stations, portable toilets and garbage pick-up.