A community group is suing the City of Toronto and their local councillor for $1 million in damages over the plan to build a homeless shelter for seniors in a parking lot at 66 Third Street in Etobicoke.
The statement of claim from the New Toronto Initiative, also known as the South Etobicoke Community Association, names the City, Etobicoke-Lakeshore Councillor Amber Morley, and consultant Bruce Davis of Public Progress – the company that led the community engagement process to build the shelter on the residential road.
“At the end of the day we want an injunction; we want to see this stopped and let’s bring this back to proper consultation,” said New Toronto Initiative spokesperson Dan Perdue.
The lawsuit claims, in part, the public consultation process was designed to limit residents’ input. Nadine Strople lives at a nearby senior centre, and said she experienced that first-hand at a virtual information meeting.
“Most of these tenants are in their 70s and 80s,” she told CityNews. “A lot of people have a flip phone, so they were excluded.”
Perdue said his input would have been about community safety. “And then there’s going to be the added effect of addiction and drug dealers in the neighborhood, crime is going to go up,” he said.
The City tells CityNews it held a number of information sessions on the four-storey, 50-bed shelter for people 55 years of age and older. It’s set to open between 2028-2030.
The proposed site sits within 400 metres of two schools and adjacent to the new Toronto senior centre where Strople lives.
“If the shelter is actually built, it will sit nine metres from some of these balconies, including my own,” said Strople. She added crime in the area has increased over the past two years and said a shelter would exacerbate it.
But resident Susannah Lavallee disagreed, and said unhoused people are often the victims of crime. She said there are many in the community who support the shelter.
“To ensure that our unhoused seniors can age in place, a beautiful neighborhood, by parks, by community, which we would all agree, seniors deserve,” said Lavallee.
Residents with the New Toronto Initiative said there’s a better way that starts with consultation and a bigger facility at a site that can accommodate it.
The lawsuit also claims Councillor Morley and Davis engaged in conflicts of interest and the site violates bylaw requirements. None of these allegations have been proven in court.
Councillor Morley said she was not part of selecting the location for this shelter but told CityNews in part, “I support the creation of a shelter at this site, which will serve seniors. I am working to ensure it is thoughtfully designed, responsibly operated, and shaped by the input of Etobicoke-Lakeshore residents.”
Davis said he’s not yet seen the claim but maintains his career has been “focused on strengthening neighbourhoods through inclusive policy, transparent governance, and grassroots engagement.”
The New Toronto Initiative said the lawsuit is not about the money, it’s about accountability and discontinuing plans to build the shelter. The group added if it were ever awarded the money, it would invest it back into the community.
