TORONTO — The City of Toronto will create more than 600 new emergency shelter spaces for refugees and refugee claimants at Hotel Novotel in North York following approval by City Council. The plan is expected to cost $80 million over five years and likely to go into effect next month.
The plan is due to an increasing number of refugees seeking temporary accommodations since September 2021, primarily driven by the re-opening of the Canada-U.S. border and the ease of international travel restrictions.
Additionally, the new hotel spaces will free up space in the city’s shelter system, allowing refugees seeking temporary accommodation to move to the new site where more supports are available for settlement process and coordination with legal services, employment and education.
