Toronto Mayor John Tory willing to collaborate with homeless encampment protestors

With the clearing of a homeless encampment in Toronto's Moss Park and others like it in the city, Mayor John Tory has stated that he is willing to reason with protestors that were offended by these camps being taken apart.

“I would like to hope that we could work with these people…and I welcome their right to protest and the fact they choose to do so, but I would hope we can work with them,” Tory said at a news conference Monday.

The city of Toronto's latest effort to relocate homeless residents who are living in encampments took place last Wednesday at Lamport Stadium – near Dufferin and King Streets. Out of the 11 former occupants of Moss Park, only two accepted a referral to a shelter or hotel program. Additionally, five had found spots in the shelter system, three left voluntarily, and one declined a public housing offer.

However, on that Wednesday, a protest outside of Lamport Stadium clashed with police, leading to 26 arrests. The day before, nine arrests were made as people protested against an encampment at Alexandra Park. It was an effort that saw 11 of 26 homeless people accepted into a shelter or hotel program.

Last month, Tory stated that the clearing of an encampment at Trinity-Bellwoods Park was "reasonable, firm, but compassionate" even with the conflicts that occured between demonstrators and the police.

Critics of Toronto's approach to the clearing of encampments believe that the homeless do not feel safe in the shelter system.