City to prioritize larger homeless encampments in new strategy, as number of tents grows citywide

As the number of homeless encampments in Toronto grows, city hall is proposing a new strategy that puts more housing resources toward a handful of larger camps — while also using security to prevent new tents from being erected.
The strategy unveiled Wednesday calls on councillors to endorse the approach taken since last summer to tackle a large camp at Allan Gardens — allocating more staff, concentrating resources like rent subsidies and running tax and identification clinics — and expand it to other locations.
That endeavour, which came at a cost of $1.7 million in the first six months, resulted in 97 people moving into housing, the city highlighted in its report on Wednesday — with 11 tents remaining as of early May versus 84 last July.
“The nature of these challenges are changing and we need to be changing with them,” Gord Tanner, head of the city’s shelter department, said in a press conference.
If the strategy is approved by council, city staff would expand that same approach to other encampments at staff’s discretion within the current budget, which means up to three prioritized encampments per year.
While the new protocol still allows the city to clear camps — such as where there is a safety or health risk — it aims to prioritize stability and housing over enforcement crackdowns. Staff would still be allowed in some instances to immediately remove a camp, without notice, but it urges 72 hours’ notice. 
The proposal comes as homelessness continues to grow across Toronto. As of mid-March, the Star reported there were more than double the number of tents in ravines, parks and under bridges than last spring — from 82 camps to 202. That has continued to rise, with 256 camps as of May 5, the city says.
Meanwhile, in April, city data shows an average of 224.5 people per day were turned away from shelter, with an average of only 5.7 people per day able to access emergency shelter by calling for aid — a problem city staff expect will persist through the year, as affordability erodes and demand only mounts. 
The new approach to encampments was prompted by recommendations from Toronto’s ombudsman, following a probe into past encampment clearings. Specifically, the ombudsman urged staff to update their service protocols, and adopt a model used in Dufferin Grove Park — the first location where the city deployed concentrated services similar to the strategy in Allan Gardens. 
That service-focused approach has been met with some optimism from outreach workers, though some have questioned the spending on security, and limiting the heightened resources to those already in a prioritized park.
“That’s a lot of money that could go to housing benefits,” said Greg Cook, an outreach worker with Sanctuary Toronto. Cook also argued that enforcement-triggering conditions like health and safety risks were inadequately defined. 
Fellow outreach worker Diana Chan McNally noted the protocol also opened the door for clearings if a person was deemed to not be working with city staff. “If after two or three weeks an encampment resident refuses offers of support from a city worker, will they be labelled ‘non-compliant’ and evicted?” 
With only enough money to put focused supports in three camps per year, Cook said the protocol felt to him only “slightly better than the status quo.” 
In a report on the consultation process leading to the new protocol, some participants offered scathing indictments of the city’s past practices — with some city workers saying they felt “political interference” when it came to enforcement decisions. “City staff noted that political pressure often creates a sense of emergency to respond to non-emergency situations,” the report said. 
Those living outside meanwhile said it felt “nearly impossible” to get housing assistance outside of the most visible camps. “Many said that it was common knowledge that to get housing people had to go to specific encampments or to set up tents in more visible areas to attract political attention,” the report continued. 
Tanner, asked on Wednesday, said it “wasn’t his experience” that political interference impacted enforcement decisions — but acknowledged “significant” pressure in 2021 as large-scale encampment clearings were taking place. When it came to prioritizing certain camps, Tanner noted city resource limits. 
“Staff within the division and at the city make tough calls every day on prioritizing scarce resources for people in need … we’re very focused right now on larger camps that are in public spaces that may be preventing others from accessing those spaces, in places like Allan Gardens or Clarence Square.” 
City staff, in their report, framed the new approach as a gradual process: “Rebuilding trust and repairing relationships is ongoing and takes time.” 
The report is set to go before Toronto’s economic and community development committee at its meeting on May 29, and if approved, will go to city council in late June.