The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) are profoundly disappointed that the City of Toronto has failed to act on the Toronto Ombudsperson report investigating the decision to deny refugee claimants access to shelter beds.
The December 12, 2024 report found that the decision specifically discriminated on the basis of race and citizenship, contrary to the Housing Charter and the Ontario Human Rights Code. The report also found that denying refugee claimants access to shelter beds constituted anti-Black racism, as many or most affected refugee claimants were from African countries or of African descent.
The City of Toronto has legal and human rights obligations to ensure that its decision-making process and policies are free from discrimination. However, when the Toronto City Council received the report at its December 17, 2024 meeting, it failed to direct staff to implement any of the recommendations.
“This was a missed opportunity to implement important recommendations contained in the Ombudsperson’s report to address the systemic failures in the decision-making process to deny shelter bad to asylum seekers,” says Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. “The City of Toronto must take accountability for the unfair and discriminatory decision that put newly arrived refugees in a precarious situation of increased vulnerability and endeavor to do better to prevent this from happening in the future.”
“Newly arrived refugee claimants are among the most vulnerable members of society, and the Ombudsperson’s report highlights how Toronto failed to treat them with dignity and respect, says Kate Webster, Vice President of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers. “The City of Toronto’s failure to discuss the report, let alone adopt any of its recommendations, leaves unchecked the systemic racism that led to the exclusion of refugees from shelters in the first place. This sets a dangerous precedent and leaves marginalized groups open to further discrimination.”
Read the letter to Toronto City Councillors from CCLA and CARL here.
Media Contacts:
Harini Sivalingam,
Director of Equality Program
media@ccla.org
Kate Webster
Vice President, CARL
katewebster@carl-acaadr.ca
About the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The CCLA is an independent, non-profit organization with supporters from across the country. Founded in 1964, the CCLA is a national human rights organization committed to defending the rights, dignity, safety, and freedoms of all people in Canada.
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