Defence Minister to Toronto Mayor: Armouries ‘Not the Appropriate Place’ to Host Homeless

National Defence Minister Bill Blair rises during question period in the House of Commons on Sept. 29, 2023. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

Defence Minister Bill Blair says he told Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow that Canadian Armed Forces armouries in her city should not serve as homeless shelters.

“The armouries are not vacant buildings just waiting to be exploited for any purpose,” Mr. Blair said while appearing before the House of Commons defence committee on Nov. 23.

The minister said he had a long conversation with Ms. Chow and shared his “very strong opinion” that armouries are “not the appropriate place to house the homeless.”

Ms. Chow sent a letter to Mr. Blair on Nov. 20 asking him to make the Fort York and Moss Park armouries available to host homeless refugees and to provide resources and funding. The letter follows a motion adopted by the city council on Nov. 8 to that effect.

Ms. Chow said the situation in the city is “dire” with refugee shelter occupancy at 3,900, which she says is a 50 percent increase over six months ago.

“While operationalizing the armouries will not solve the immediate crisis before us, it will save lives during the cold winter months,” said the mayor.

Mr. Blair told MPs that 3,100 military personnel work out of the armouries, which house multiple units and a cadet program.

“I believe that perhaps the request to use armouries in the circumstances doesn’t really acknowledge how important those armouries and the reserves that work in them are to our safety and our national defence,” he said.

Armouries have previously been used as homeless shelters, and Mr. Blair pointed to the death of a man who was being sheltered at the Moss Park Armoury in 2018. “Homeless advocates said that the conditions there were deplorable, and I was there, and I agree,” he said.

Ms. Chow also exchanged messages with Immigration Minister Marc Miller over social media and asked for additional resources.

In response, Mr. Miller said the federal government has offered $5 million to open the Better Living Centre at the Exhibition Place to host refugees. “No one should be left outside in dangerously cold weather,” he said.

Ms. Chow replied on Nov. 22 that the city was already working to open the Better Living Centre and that an additional 200-plus spaces is not a solution.

“We need more space and resources for this crisis, including the armouries, a reception centre and real funding to support the 5,100—and growing—refugees the City is supporting,” she wrote back.

The federal government announced on Nov. 24 that it would be providing the Peel Region $7 million to open a reception centre for asylum claimants near Toronto Pearson Airport.

Up to October, the Canada Border Services Agency has processed 59,485 asylum claims, an increase of over 10,000 compared to the same period last year.

With the closure of Roxham Road in Quebec in March, the major channel for illegal immigration into Canada, refugees are now making most claims at air ports of entry.