City of Toronto asks builder of tiny homeless shelters to remove them from park

The City of Toronto says it has asked a non-profit builder of tiny shelters for homeless people to remove the structures from a downtown park.

Spokesperson Russell Baker says the city has told the founder of Tiny Tiny Homes that five small portable emergency shelters at St. James Park, which is city-owned property, cannot remain there.

Ryan Donais, a construction worker who founded Tiny Tiny Homes, says he started building the shelters with the goal of ending homeless encampments that have grown across Ontario in the past few years.

But the city says that while it appreciates Torontonians who care about people in need, the tiny shelters pose safety risks for those living inside and near them, and interfere with public use of the park as well as city staff’s outreach work.

Each tiny home is made of fibreglass, has a bed and a small kitchen inside, a solar panel on the roof for lights and a fan and a diesel-fuelled heating system.

Tiny Tiny Homes says on its website that the city might consider legal or enforcement steps to remove the structures and is asking people to sign a petition calling on Toronto to find alternative locations for the shelters.