Toronto housing crisis predates PM
Re Meeting with resistance, July 6 Premier Doug Ford’s press secretary, Simon Jefferies, points to our prime minister’s tweet that Canada is welcoming to asylum seekers as the reason for Toronto’s housing crisis. “This has resulted in a housing crisis, and threats to the services that Ontario families depend on,” Jefferies says.
No. The current housing crisis long predates Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s January 2017 tweet. The current housing crisis was created by successive federal and provincial governments divesting from social housing over decades. It is also a result of population growth driven by Toronto’s success as an economic engine for Canada, combined with both the public and private sector’s inability to plan and respond.
Jefferies says “this mess was 100 per cent the result of the federal government” as grounds for insisting the federal government foot 100 per cent of the cost of newcomers.
The uptick in asylum seekers crossing into Canada is largely a consequence of xenophobic rhetoric and policies from the current U.S. administration.
Is Jefferies seriously suggesting that Justin Trudeau is responsible for the election of Trump? Is Jefferies suggesting the federal government caused wars and destabilization in South America? Or climate-change induced famine elsewhere? Because those are the positions Jefferies would have to take to assert that Trudeau is 100 per cent responsible for global mass migration. Ugly, divisive, post-truth politics have arrived in Ontario. Andrew Knott, Toronto It seems like our PM enjoys basking in the limelight and taking credit for welcoming illegal border crossers into Ontario but tends to shy away when asked to foot the bill for their accomodation and welfare. Ottawa is promising Ontario $11 million towards the migrant program but it’s estimated it will cost Toronto at least $75 million to house these migrants.
When lodging constraints and capacity become unmanageable, Trudeau must show some responsibility and seek other alternatives to address this crisis. Robert Ariano, Scarborough