John Tory is a can-do guy when he’s inspired to get a job done. But when it comes to finding homes for 5,000 Syrian refugees in 45 days, Toronto’s Chief Magistrate was sounding more like someone who has been dragooned into a scheme that won’t work. The Mayor admitted today (Wednesday November 18, 2015) that he is uncertain as to how Toronto will accommodate that many refugees before New Year’s. But he said, the City will simply have to find a way to do it. “It’s a big challenge but when you’re confronted with these challenges the thing is to make sure that you meet them,” said Tory. He said that it would be difficult to find homes immediately for a portion of the 25,000 Syrian refugees that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to resettle by year’s end. Obvious places like the Pan Am Athletes’ Village or Toronto Community Housing are problematic, he said, because in the first case the structures are in the process of being converted for private-sector housing and in the second, Toronto Community Housing already has a sizeable waiting list. Ontario looking at decommissioned hospitals for temporary refugee housing
