Toronto – (October 22, 2000)
At 12:01 a.m. Sun. Oct. 22, a dozen Torontonians established a Tent City in Nathan Phillips Square, City Hall, to protest the lack of action on the homelessness crisis.
“We’re here in solidarity with the 60,000 homeless Torontonians. The temperature could reach freezing tonight. Do more people that sleep on the streets and in ravines have to die before the city takes this crisis seriously?” asks Gomberg.
“There’s so much the city should be doing, like creating new emergency hostel beds, building social housing, and forcing the arm of Mike Harris to restore a rent freeze and repeal the Tenant Protection Act.
“But more specifically we’re calling upon the city to open an armoury to the homeless of our city. Since the city has already declared homelessness an emergency, then the opening of the armoury is the minimum acceptable to counter the crisis.
The Tent City group has put out a call for others to join them for an hour or a night. “Bring warm food, extra hats and long johns, cause it’s mighty cold out here after sundown.”