March 6, 2025
Dear BQNA Board,
Thank you for your engagement over the last several months about the encampment at Little Norway Park and the implementation of enhanced services to resolve it.
I am writing to share that as of today there are no encampments in Little Norway Park. This follows four months of focused and consistent efforts through the City’s Interdivisional Protocol for Encampments.
I called for enhanced services in the park last fall, following a spike of entrenched tents in the park, with City staff agreeing to the plan at the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association (BQNA) AGM in November.
My team and I have worked closely with City staff, community partners, emergency services, and neighbours to implement and advance an enhanced outreach model that focuses on rapidly connecting encamped residents to shelter, income supports and support services. This enhanced outreach model brought a 24/7 presence of case workers, community organizations, and security. Throughout this process, we have achieved important results:
87 indoor referrals were completed
111 encampments have been resolved
20 people supported in obtaining identification, accessing income supports and filing taxes, which ensures eligibility for benefits and is a requirement for housing
39,895 kg waste removed
Working with people along their journey to housing takes time. This is especially true as Toronto remains in a housing and shelter crisis, where shelters have remained consistently full and the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit payments were suspended by the province for the summer months last year, which created a backlog in shelters with people stuck waiting to move into permanent housing. This contributed to a cycle where new encampments appeared in the park faster than staff could connect individuals with indoor options.
Each encampment presents unique challenges and requires a tailored approach. You and I both know that the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood is a vibrant and diverse community, featuring a mix of housing—from TCHC and co-ops to condominiums and a shelter—all interconnected with parks, a school, and a community centre to create a truly complete neighbourhood.
I have been committed to responding to community concerns and keeping in regular communication with neighbours including you – thank you for your commitment to resolving this through a dedicated approach.
I’m grateful for all of the city and community staff who’ve worked to conduct daily outreach visits for people staying in the park, do daily clean ups of the park, and provide health care services.
Safety for everyone in the neighbourhood has always been a priority for me. I want to thank the security staff, Community Safety Teams, Toronto Fire Services staff, Neighbourhood Community Officers, and all other emergency responders who’ve done proactive work to address safety concerns in the park and respond quickly to emergencies.
Our work in Little Norway Park isn’t over
I know that Little Norway Park is a well-loved, well-used park that deserves improvements. Here is what you can expect to see:
For the next 5 days: Immediate park clean up. City staff will be onsite at the park over the next few days to do a detailed review of the space, remove unwanted litter and items, and then do a fine cleaning to identify and safely remove all metal and/or sharp hazards that may be embedded in the turf. With snow melting, this may take a bit more time than usual.
For the next 30 days: Continued encampment prevention. Security teams and Community Safety Teams will remain onsite for the next 30 days, to continue to do encampment prevention, by quickly referring people who may arrive to shelter and services. At the end of 30 days, staff will assess what continued supports are needed.
In Spring 2025: Turf remediation. In the spring, Parks staff will conduct turf assessments to examine what is needed to re-green the park and assess repairs needed. I will provide updates on more specific dates as the weather changes.
Please share what park improvements and activations you’d like to see.
I’ve spoken with many of you about your vision for the park and am committed to advancing these with you and City staff. Share what you’d like to see with me by completing a quick survey:
And we know that the most effective way to address encampments for the long term is by creating permanent solutions to our city’s housing crisis. It’s crucial to continue action this moment to advocate for continued investment in the resources needed to ensure no one is left behind, while keeping our parks safe and accessible for everyone. With the scale of the homelessness and housing crisis, we need more options to assist people on their housing journey at every stage - from emergency shelters to permanent affordable housing.
In Bathurst Quay, Homes First is continuing to work with community stakeholders to ensure safe and caring operation of the shelter. They are committed to responding to emails and questions, as well as organizing Community Liaison Committee meetings. You can always reach out to Ryan Evershed, Manager of Community Engagement & Client Programming at
I am also glad to share that the Community Safety Teams based out of the shelter that have been monitoring the area 24/7 for needle sweeps, providing de-escalation, conflict resolution, crisis prevention and intervention supports will continue to support our community. Security guards will continue hourly patrols of the shelter’s perimeter. You can continue to reach the Community Safety Team through 211 or directly at 647-455-0062 or 647-455-2800.
I will continue to work with my council colleagues to use every lever we can to invest in and open affordable and supportive housing. And support from other levels of government is necessary – and we need your voice and your support to make it happen. I have so appreciated that many of you have taken the time to advocate over the past several months in support of housing. If you haven’t yet, you can:
Sign this petition to help the City open more shelters, to ensure people get emergency housing when they need it in neighbourhoods across Toronto. It will send an email to all of your representatives.
Add your name to support making the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit permanent.
Thank you for your continued commitment to our community. We’ll keep working together to ensure that Little Norway Park is safe and accessible for all park users and that we meet people’s housing needs with the seriousness it requires.
Sincerely,
Ausma
Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik (she/her)
Toronto City Councillor - Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York
416-392-4044 | councillor_malik@toronto.ca
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