TORONTO — Canada's public safety minister says a downtown armoury in Toronto is being opened as a temporary homeless shelter for two weeks.
The decision by Ralph Goodale comes as the city experiences an unusually frigid spell and a spike in demand on its homeless shelter system.
In a tweet, Goodale says the federal government accepted a request from the city and Ontario to make the Moss Park Armoury available.
Earlier this week, Toronto Mayor John Tory said the city was revisiting a shelved proposal to open the facility to the homeless.
Goodale says the armoury will be open 24-7 for the duration.
He says all levels of government are working together to keep people safe from the cold.
Temperatures in Toronto have dropped to around -20 C for several nights, prompting thousands of residents to sign a petition in favour of opening the armoury.
The facility, just on the eastern edge of the downtown core, is close to a supervised injection site and near other shelters where scores of people seek refuge every day.
City data indicate Toronto's shelters were close to full last weekend with 5,460 people staying in the shelter system on Jan. 1. Another 445 people used winter-respite centres — temporary shelters opened up only during cold months.
Tory has said the armoury would add about 100 beds to an already overtaxed system that has seen demand surge by 30 per cent over the same time last year. The city has six other winter respite centres.
Toronto has promised to increase shelter capacity by 400 beds in the coming months and to build new facilities this year.
