In Toronto, activists say there have never been so many people without a place to call their own. They use the word “epidemic.”
According to the Toronto Homeless Memorial Network, a group that tracks deaths among the homeless, 17 have died in Toronto since the beginning of October 2019.
The thing is, when people talk about the homeless it’s often in terms of numbers and statistics like the ones above — but the issue really hits home when you meet the people.
The National’s Leonardo Palleja and Nick Purdon spent time with a number of homeless people in Toronto, here are some of their stories.
Frenchie
Frenchie is 28 years old and has been living under this bridge in Toronto for the past six months. He says the people he meets ‘above ground’ judge him because he’s homeless. (Nick Purdon/CBC)
For six months, Frenchie (he says that’s what his friends call him) has slept in a tent under a bridge in Toronto — a few blocks from some of the most expensive houses in the country.
Frenchie says he lost his restaurant job and had some bad luck, and after that things went downhill.
“It’s a difficult life, but we survive. Every day we survive,” he says.
There are about 15 other people living in the makeshift camp under the bridge, a small community where he says he’s treated well. Above ground, on the street, he says people judge him.
We have a different life, but we are still human — we are not alien, we are still people.– Frenchie
“I just want to say to people, we are not that bad,” he says. “We have a different life, but we are still human — we are not alien, we are still people.”
Frenchie says he doesn’t worry that much about winter — he has plenty of tarps and blankets, and sometimes he lights a small fire in his tent to keep warm.
Hear more from Frenchie:
‘Frenchie’ shows CBC reporter Nick Purdon where he lives in a tent under a bridge in Toronto. 0:39
Paul
At 43, Paul has been homeless for six years — ever since he lost his job framing houses in Toronto.
“I had a work injury and I also suffer from depression,” he explains.
What’s remarkable about Paul is that if you passed him on the street, you probably wouldn’t realize he’s homeless. He doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of an entrenched homeless person many people imagine when they read statistics about the problem in Canada.
“It’s not just the bums you see on the streets — we’re everywhere now,” Paul says.
“The vast majority don’t look like they’re homeless. It’s people who have fallen on hard times, got divorced, lost their jobs, got a work injury,” he says.
Paul has been homeless for six years, since suffering a work injury. ‘We’re a rich country, there’s no reason for this to be happening,’ he says. (Nick Purdon/CBC)
Paul says he’s lucky to have a bed at one of the city’s shelters while he’s on a waiting list for subsidized housing.
A list that is 11 years long.
“We’re a rich country, there’s no reason for this to be happening,” he says.
Paul says not having a place to call his own takes a tremendous toll on his mind.
“You have no hopes and dreams left anymore. You have no nothing,” he says. “People think you are nothing, and so you end up thinking you are nothing.
“You just eventually end up fading, fading away slowly.”
Hear more from Paul:
Paul, 43, has been homeless for six years – ever since he hurt his back and lost his job. 0:11
Kevin Durance
Kevin Durance has become an unlikely activist.
He fidgets on stage as he addresses a protest in front of Toronto city hall.
“I know how hard I have to work just to survive,” he tells the crowd.
Kevin Durance, who has been living in a shelter for six years, has become a homelessness activist. He’s seen here speaking at a rally in front of Toronto City Hall in December. (Nick Purdon/CBC)
Durance has lived in a Toronto homeless shelter for the past six years. He knows how bad the situation is on the street, and he wants the city to declare a state of emergency and open more beds to the homeless.
“It boils down to real humanity,” he says. “We’ve got to start caring about people.”
Activists insist high rent prices in Toronto make it hard for people who earn minimum wage or collect social assistance to afford a place to live.
The number of people sleeping in shelters in Toronto has doubled in the past five years and now hovers somewhere around 8,000.
Still, Kevin’s wish is a small one — for people to see him and not look away when they pass him on the street.
“They don’t see me, they see that stigma. [They think] I’m violent, I’m strange, I’m different — I’m just simple. I need someone to help me.”
Hear more from Kevin:
Kevin Durance, who has been living in a shelter in Toronto for six years, is an activist who wants the city of Toronto to create more shelter beds. 0:31
Scott
Scott used to run a small hotel in downtown Toronto.
The day that closed, he lost both his job and his place to live.
He never thought he’d find himself living in a shelter.
“I always had money, I always had a job,” he says. “It’s getting to the point where I’m getting too old to get a job and my physical features aren’t what they used to be. Who wants to hire somebody with no teeth to go serve tables?”
Scott lives in the St. Simon’s Shelter in Toronto. He has a bunk and a metal chest to store his clothes. Homeless shelters were supposed to be temporary solutions, but now people like Scott live in them for years. (Nick Purdon/CBC)
Scott hasn’t told his friends or family that he’s staying in a shelter, saying “I don’t want pity.”
He says all he wants is to get back to work full-time and have a place of his own.
“Just get back up there where I used to be, where I get up in the morning and I’ve got a place to go.”
Hear more from Scott:
Scott used to run a small hotel in downtown Toronto, and when it closed he lost both his job and his place to live. 0:17
WATCH | The National’s feature and learn from those living it what it’s like to be homeless in Toronto:
Four men talk about being homeless in one of Canada’s richest cities. 8:29
MONTREAL – One expert says entry-level pay under the tentative deal between Air Canada and its pilots could be a stumbling block ahead of a union vote on the agreement.
Under their current contract, pilots earn far less in their first four years at the company before enjoying a big wage increase starting in year five.
The Air Line Pilots Association had been pushing to scrap the so-called “fixed rate” provision entirely.
But according to a copy of the contract summary obtained by The Canadian Press, the proposed deal announced Sunday would merely cut the four-year period of lower pay to two years.
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, says as many as 2,000 of Air Canada’s roughly 5,200 active pilots may earn entry-level wages following a recent hiring surge.
After the airline averted a strike this week, Gradek says the failure to ditch the pay grade restrictions could prompt pushback from rank-and-file flight crew and jeopardize the deal, which is up for a vote next month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
ROME (AP) — Salvatore “Totò” Schillaci, the Italy striker who was top scorer at its home World Cup in 1990, has died. He was 59.
Schillaci had been hospitalized in Palermo following treatment for colon cancer.
The Palermo Civico hospital said in a statement that Schillacci died on Wednesday morning after being admitted 11 days ago.
Schillaci scored six goals for Italy during the 1990 World Cup. He came on as a substitute during Italy’s opener against Austria, scored in a 1-0 victory, and went on to earn the Golden Boot awarded to the tournament’s top scorer. He only scored one other goal for Italy in his career.
Italian soccer federation president Gabriele Gravina announced that a minute of silence would be held in memory of Schillaci before all games in the country for the rest of the week.
“The uncontrollable celebrations, in which his face was the symbol of shared joy, will remain forever part of Italian soccer (history),” Gravina said. “Totò was a great player, a symbol of tenacious desire and redemption. … His soccer was full of passion. And that fearless spirit made everyone appreciate him and will make him immortal.”
Schillaci also won the Golden Ball award at the 1990 World Cup as the tournament’s top player ahead of Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.
Schillaci played for Messina, Juventus, Inter Milan and Japanese team Jubilo Iwata during his club career.
“You made an entire nation dream during the Magical Nights of Italia ’90,” Inter said on its social media channels.
West Germany won the 1990 World Cup, beating Argentina in the final, while Italy beat England for third place with a winning penalty kick from Schillaci.
Roberto Baggio, who scored Italy’s opening goal in the third-place match, wrote on Instagram, “Ciao my dear friend.”
Having been born and raised in Palermo, the Palermo soccer team announced that it would hold a public viewing of Schillaci at its Renzo Barbera stadium ahead of the funeral, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported.
French soccer player Wissam Ben Yedder will stay free ahead of his trial on charges of sexual assault while intoxicated, one of his lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Marie Roumiantseva said Ben Yedder will remain under strict judicial supervision after a woman filed a lawsuit for sexual assault earlier this month.
The 34-year-old Ben Yedder, a prolific striker in the French league, was briefly detained then released after the alleged incident in his car on the French Riviera. Ben Yedder had been stopped by police after he first refused to do so. He was then put in a jail cell.
After he was summoned to appear in court on Oct. 15 and placed under judicial supervision, the Nice prosecutor’s office appealed the decision not to remand the player in custody. The investigative chamber of the Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence did not grant this request and kept Ben Yedder under judicial supervision.
Ben Yedder attended a hearing Tuesday during which he offered to go to rehab. He has admitted he drove while under the influence of alcohol but has denied any sexual assault.
In a separate legal case last year, Ben Yedder was charged with “rape, attempted rape and sexual assault” over another alleged incident in the south of France.
Ben Yedder has been without a club since his contract with Monaco expired at the end of last season.
