Last week at Council ( July 10th, 2024) there was an update provided on the Integrated Transition to Housing Strategy. As part of that update, a motion was brought forward to try to remove delegated authority from staff to prevent them from moving forward with purchasing and installing Sprung Structures
As a city councillor who continues to have a closed community centre that is being used to house asylum seekers, I found this disturbing. Continued efforts by councillors to thwart progress and slow down our efforts to shelter individuals delay the re-opening of the Heron Road Community Centre, as it is currently serving a majority of the asylum seekers in the shelter system.
There has also been some misinformation circulated regarding the use of the Sprung Structure, the following questions and answers are therefore provided.
For more information on the product itself, you may wish to visit the company’s website.
Did you vote for Sprung Structures?
Yes. City councillors voted unanimously on the use of a Sprung Structure in November 2023. City staff then initiated the site selection process, identifying suitable parcels of municipal land where a Sprung Structure could be erected. Factors in site selection included the size of the parcel, the need for land use for an indeterminate period, the ability to connect to utilities and access to transit. No opposition to Sprung Structures was expressed by any councillor before the site selection process began.
Is Alta Vista Ward being considered as a site?
Yes. I was informed by staff on May 7th, 2024 that two properties in my Ward were being considered, properties at 1661 &1671 St. Laurent Boulevard, and that these two sites were collectively one of the top three options being considered.
Update: I was informed in August 2024 that the site at St. Laurent is no longer being considered due to an issue with egress with Via Rail.
Do you agree to having a site in your community?
Yes. We have a responsibility as leaders to welcome and integrate community members into our ward. War, persecution and human rights violations have forced asylum seekers to flee. To escape violence and threats to their lives, many leave with little more than the clothes they’re wearing and often face hardship when they arrive. The Heron Road Community Centre and Dempsey Community Centre (recently vacated) have been serving as defacto welcome centres over the last ten months. A Sprung Shelter is a much more dignified form of temporary shelter than a community centre. I voted in favour of these proposals and will not oppose it in my ward.
Why can’t we just keep using the community centres?
Community centres are not appropriate for shelter. Most community centres do not have showers. The fact that Dempsey and Heron Road both have showers and open spaces has led to their use for extended periods of time. At Heron Road presently, there are over 230 individuals sharing a handful of showers and washroom stalls. There are scores of individuals crammed into all available spaces there. It is not suitable as a shelter.
Using community centres means they are not available for community use. In Alta Vista we have been disproportionately impacted by the continued closure of community centres since April 2020. Heron Road Community Centre, Dempsey Community Centre and Jim Durrell Recreation Centre have all been used, impacting residents throughout my ward for extended periods of time, particularly low -income families, seniors’ and youth who rely on the programming and services offered in a community centre.
Why is the Sprung Structure going to cost $105 million?
The Sprung Structure is not going to cost $105 million. The entire proposal that the City of Ottawa is putting forward to the Federal Government is $105.8 million, which represents the total proposal costs until 2026. That includes, $57.6M capital funding, $42.1M in operating and $6.1M in one-time startup costs. The proposal includes capital for 2 sprung structures, 20 scattered transitional housing sites and one fixed site (St. Joseph). The scattered transitional housing sites are those like Matthew House and Stepstone House provide.
The entire proposal is designed to offer immediate support for asylum seekers when they arrive at a Welcome Centre for interim shelter and assistance with documentation and resettlement. The intended length of stay is 90 days. Once established, the idea is to move (space dependent) into transitional housing offered either in a scattered site or at St. Joseph, prior to full integration into the community.
Why can’t we just build permanent housing instead?
There are thousands of units of permanent housing being built in the city, both private market and non-profit units, however they take time to build.
It is important to understand that the population that will be served is not eligible for permanent housing. To be on the social housing registry for subsidized housing, you need to be a Canadian citizen, a landed immigrant, a refugee or a refugee claimant. An asylum seeker has not yet been legally recognized as a refugee and is waiting to receive a decision on their asylum claim. To purchase or rent a home, a person typically requires proof of income and government issued identification. Asylum seekers do not have these documents. It takes time to be document ready for housing, and as well for their asylum claim to be heard and granted. It is also important to note that the intended length of stay on site for an asylum seeker is 90 days.
Asylum seekers worldwide are dependent on non-profits and shelters when they arrive. There is no program in place anywhere that offers immediate, permanent housing to asylum seekers.
Can’t we just build mass timber or modular housing on the sites instead of erecting a Sprung Shelter?
Staff are currently working on proposals that will see modular housing projects in Ottawa in the next few years. These modular projects will be delivered in the coming years as part of the Ottawa/Ontario agreement and they may include mass timber. The City of Ottawa will be providing at least two parcels of land to support modular affordable housing. The hope is that these modular builds will serve to demonstrate how this type of construction is sustainable and can be brought to market more quickly and affordably.
However, as explained above, this does not qualify asylum seekers for housing. There is no mechanism to offer immediate, permanent housing to asylum seekers as the intended stay is for 90 days.
Additionally, the city currently has a wait list for affordable housing. There is no process in place to offer permanent homes to asylum seekers when there are 12,500 families on the wait list for an average of 5.5 years, as well as over 2000 persons living unhoused in the community who require homes. Building permanent homes for asylum seekers who only require temporary assistance with shelter is also not a viable option.
Why does the city have to help asylum seekers?
Canada is a signatory to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and respects the individual right to claim asylum. Seeking asylum is a human right, and while seeking asylum is a federal process, providing shelter is a municipal responsibility.
There are no services in some communities. Has that been considered?
Wrap around services are offered directly in the Sprung Shelter, where workers provide onsite support targeting newcomer clients with settlement services, need assessments to determine eligibility for transitional housing as well as various supports to help in their settlement journey.
Why can’t the city rent some buildings instead?
City staff have met with hundreds of landlords to try to rent buildings. Private landlords often will not rent buildings for unhoused individuals.
The city rents buildings when they can, and has service contracts in place for hotels and motels as well.
Peterborough and Waterloo erected tiny home communities, why can’t we build those instead?
There are many reasons why a Sprung Shelter is more appropriate than a tiny home community. The first is reuse. We want to ensure these structures remain temporary. Sprung Structures can be re-purposed to many community issues, including for emergency operations; as recreational facilities; for healthcare. if we establish a tiny home community, there is no other use for tiny homes, therefore it risks perpetuating the use of temporary shelter.
Tiny home communities typically consist of individual sleeping units (“tiny homes”) and a community building, whereas a Sprung Shelter is one large structure that includes beds, communal facilities and services under one roof. Advantages of the Sprung Shelter model include
- Easier to monitor safety and security concerns under one roof. Security will be in place 24/7 for protection of the residents, who have often fled violence and endured threats. It is much more difficult to monitor with individual sleeping units, where residents need to walk back and forth.
- Having to walk outside to use or washroom or other shared facilities in our climate (which includes cold winter days) is not appropriate. Having to walk back and forth also presents challenges for those with accessibility issues.
- Staffing is all under one roof where residents can access all services and there can also be staffing efficiencies.
- Intake of residents daily is easier under one roof and would not be possible in a tiny home model.
- One large facility allows the maximization of the number of spaces. Approximately 150 individuals will be served by each Sprung Structure, whereas tiny home communities typically serve 50 cabins.
- Natural light in the Sprung Shelter and high ceiling heights are much more aesthetically pleasing.
- Ability to partition off areas for privacy
Why was there no consultation with housing partner agencies?
There was. Sector partners were involved in the development of the proposal, including organizations that specialize in resettlement, such as Matthew House.
Why can’t they just stay in one of the downtown shelters?
The downtown shelters are over capacity and that is why community centres and overflow centres have needed to be used for the past four years. Furthermore, wrap around services required by asylum seekers are those related to resettlement, including assistance with cultural adjustment and legal hurdles. Wrap around services in the traditional shelter system do not include these services.
Will children in the Sprung Structure be allowed to have a friend over to play?
There will not be any children staying in the Sprung Structure. The Sprung Structures will be used for single adults. Families of asylum seekers are housed in other facilities, including the facility on Corkstown Road and in hotels and motels.
Why can’t we just retrofit buildings?
Building retrofits are extremely expensive and take time, however the City of Ottawa is undertaking these where they can. As an example, the city entered a long-term lease for 130 Queen Street to assist with our needs for transitional housing, and it is currently being retrofitted. This process will take many months, and landlords require long leases, in this case we signed a ten-year lease. It would be fiscally irresponsible to retrofit buildings and lease them over a long period of time as required when we are dealing with an emergency response.
What about Federal Buildings?
The federal building disposal policy does not allow for rapid turnaround on the disposal of properties. These buildings are also quite expensive and require retrofits to be converted into living quarters, among other costs. . Federal buildings suitable for housing are also few and far between. The City of Ottawa has already reviewed many of these buildings to determine suitability and will continue to do so.
What about hotels and motels?
The city currently has over twenty service contracts with hotels, motels and other residences that serve unhoused families including asylum claimants. Most hotel and motel owners are not interested in renting for longer term stays, as they have invested in their buildings for tourism and short-term stays. The quality of the hotels and motels that are therefore available are often those that are not desirable. Although the city does not list those that are in use to protect the privacy of the individuals, an example of one that was in use is the recently demolished Concorde Motel on Montreal Road.
Hotels and motels do not have kitchens and it is very challenging to provide asylum claimants with the needed wrap around supports when they are dispersed in hotels and motels city wide.
French to follow – Français à suivre