Rally July 15

Below is an excerpt from our speech made on July 15 during the Toronto Concerned Citizens Coalition rally.

“The City chose to avoid the politically challenging decision of siting shelters, instead, delegating it to subordinates and shirking their responsibility. This is not democracy! We elect our leaders to make informed decisions, yet the choice to place a shelter at 66 Third Street in New Toronto is reckless, biased and poorly considered.

The proposed site is unsuitable for a shelter. Located on a residential street, at capacity, the shelter would double the population of the street.   The site spans only 9,000 square feet, significantly smaller than the city’s minimum standard of 15,000 square feet. It’s also within 250 meters of two schools and adjacent to a subsidized seniors' residence.

The shelter at 66 Third would be designated as a harm reduction site.  It will offer 24/7 access to drug paraphernalia, including needles and crack pipes, but prohibit consumption on-site. This policy will surely lead to increased drug use in alleys, parks, and playgrounds, endangering our community. 

City officials and shelter advocates insist that addicts are the most vulnerable among us. 

We strongly disagree. Our children and seniors are our most vulnerable - certainly not addicts who leave discarded needles and crack pipes in our neighbourhood. 

One final message to the City and shelter agonists alike: If you think you can shame people into silence who don’t want used needles and crack pipes strewn about their neighbourhood by calling them NIMBY, well you better think again. This type of gaslighting does not work on us.  We are here to fight for a return to common decency in our neighbourhood and across the city and will not be cowed by absurd and childish name calling from our leaders and some in the media. Let’s end harm reduction practices in our neighbourhoods and begin to site shelters appropriately, with community balance in mind.”