The churches and groups say they were left holding the bag for sheltering refugee claimants.
The City is being asked to pay almost $3.5 million to mostly Black churches and organizations for helping to provide temporary shelter to hundreds of refugee claimants last year.
City staff are also being asked to create a tracking system that will monitor anti-Black racism in the shelter system.
The requests by an Economic and Community Development committee will be considered by City Council on December 17.
Refugee claimants gathered outside the office of a Toronto shelter.
The Committee in a report said the $3.475 million will used to ‘reimburse churches and community organizations for their eligible expenses towards providing temporary shelter to refugee claimants incurred on December 31.’
A handful of churches and community groups had complained they did not receive compensation and lost money by sheltering some of the hundreds of mostly-African claimants who were sleeping on the sidewalks of downtown Toronto.
The large number of claimants led to the opening a temporary shelter on the CNE grounds.
The report called for assessment supported by Toronto Public Health to continue overdose prevention at large temporary shelter hotels.
Some of the claimants at an Etobicoke church.
“The City aims to maintain and expand lifesaving supports available in large shelter hotel sites,” it stated. “If passed, may lead to a significant decrease in the availability of overdose prevention services across the city.”
The City is asking the Ontario government to provide ongoing funding to ensure that appropriate health care, mental health and crisis intervention services are available to those experiencing homelessness and sleeping outdoors in Toronto.