A successful motion from Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam asked Tory to declare an emergency in the shelter system and move immediately to open new beds. Mayor John Tory and council are being pressed to address what advocates and councillors are calling a growing crisis in the city’s emergency shelter system as temperatures drop. Declaring an emergency would give Tory the power to act without council approval, according to city rules. On November 16, the city's emergency shelter system had a total of 5,591 spots available and was at 96 per cent capacity. Wong-Tam’s motion also requested that city staff be asked to re-examine their criteria for shelter space and re-assess dozens of sites that have not made the cut.

Source: thestar November 20, 2017 22:52 UTC