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 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.
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.
