Item - 2022.EC28.9

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the General Manager of Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to exercise any options to extend currently included in the existing lease and licence agreements for the properties identified in Attachment 1, Table 1 to the report (March 14, 2022) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Procurement Officer, and on such other or amended terms and conditions as may be deemed appropriate by the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the General Manager of Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, and in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor.

2. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to negotiate and approve further lease / licence extensions in relation to any property identified in Attachment 1, Table 1 to the report (March 14, 2022) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Procurement Officer, in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor, provided that the proposed business terms for any such future lease / licence extensions generally reflect the terms and conditions contemplated for that property in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 14, 2022) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Procurement Officer, and on such other or amended terms and conditions as may be deemed appropriate by the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, provided that required funding is available in an approved budget and that no such extension shall extend later than April 30, 2023 without securing further City Council approval.

3. City Council authorize the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the General Manager of Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to negotiate and settle the terms and amount of restoration costs, as may be required for any of the 13 leases and license agreements listed in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 14, 2022) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Procurement Officer, and on such other or amended terms and conditions as may be deemed appropriate by the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management, in consultation with the General Manager of Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, and in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor, provided that funding is available in an approved budget, subject to the instructions to staff for such costs, as set out in Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 14, 2022) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Procurement Officer.

4. City Council authorize the public release of Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 14, 2022) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Procurement Officer, upon the expiration of the last agreement of the leased and / or licensed premises, as Confidential Attachment 1 to the report (March 14, 2022) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Procurement Officer, contains instructions to be applied to negotiations carried on or to be carried on by or on behalf of the City of Toronto.

5. City Council authorize the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration and/or the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management to enter into the necessary amending agreements on terms and conditions satisfactory to the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration and / or Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor to increase the value and extend the term of the fifteen (15) existing non-competitive blanket contracts / purchase orders and five (5) existing competitive blanket contracts outlined in Attachment 1, Table 3, 4 and 5 to the report (March 14, 2022) from the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management and the Chief Procurement Officer.

6. City Council, in accordance with Section 195-8.5E of City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 195 (Purchasing), authorize the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to enter into and execute an agreement with the successful proponent below who has satisfied all requirements set out in Request for Proposal Document Number 3002340572 for the provision of short-term accommodations for shelter clients through the use of hotel / motel services for operated shelters, on terms and conditions set out in the Request for Proposal and satisfactory to the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor, as follows:

a. Kingston Residence Incorporated (formerly New Lido Incorporated) for an initial term of one year from the date of award in the amount of $1,000,000 excluding all taxes ($1,017,600 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), with the option to renew for four separate additional one-year periods in the amount of $1,000,000 each excluding all taxes ($1,017,600 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries), for a total potential contract value of $5,000,000 excluding all taxes ($5,088,000 net of Harmonized Sales Tax recoveries)

7. City Council, in accordance with Section 71-11.1C of City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 71 (Financial Control), authorize the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management to enter into the necessary amending agreements on terms and conditions satisfactory to the Executive Director, Corporate Real Estate Management,  and in a form satisfactory to the City Solicitor to increase the value, and extend the term, as outlined in Recommendations 7a and 7b below, of the following contracts:

a. Blanket Contract Number 47023936 with Star Security Inc. in the amount of $19,543,536 net of all taxes ($19,887,502 net of Harmonized Sales Tax Recoveries) for the provision of contracted security guard services, increasing and extending the contract value from $9,957,677 to $29,141,213 net of all taxes ($29,647,098 net of Harmonized Sales Tax Recoveries) for the period ending October 10, 2023;

b. Blanket Contract Number 47023937 with Garda Canada Security Corporation in the amount of $8,134,715 net of Harmonized Sales Tax ($8,277,886 net of Harmonized Sales Tax Recoveries) for the provision of contracted security guard services, increasing and extending the contract value from $6,255,564 to $14,390,279 net of all taxes ($14,643,548 net of Harmonized Sales Tax Recoveries) for the period ending October 10, 2023.

8. City Council authorize the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to enter into grant agreements as needed with at least three non-profit organizations to provide temporary accommodation and related supports for approximately 750 refugee claimants outside of the base City’s emergency shelter system, with a total expenditure of up to $15,169,745, on such terms and conditions as are satisfactory to the General Manager, and in a form approved by the City Solicitor. 

9. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration, to report back to Economic and Community Development Committee in the first quarter of 2023 with an update on phase 1 of the Shelter Transition and Relocation Plan outlined in this report and next steps for phase 2 of the plan in 2023.

10. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to amend the Toronto Shelter Standards Directive related to physical distancing to introduce safe, moderate increase of capacity in base shelter sites where feasible, while maintaining public health measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

11. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to update and implement changes to the Toronto Shelter Standards as needed to strengthen safety and quality in the shelter system with a lens on equity and inclusion.

12. City Council reiterate its requests to the Federal and Provincial Governments to:

a. continue to provide funding to deliver the COVID-19 response for people experiencing homelessness to allow for the implementation of the phased implementation of the transition plan while ensuring stabilization of the homelessness service system through to recovery;

b. provide ongoing and sustainable funding to ensure that appropriate primary health care, harm reduction, overdose prevention and mental health case management services are available to adequately support individuals who are homeless and implement the shelter health services framework to provide a coordinated and consistent approach to health services across the shelter system;

c. establish and implement an immediate federal and provincial intergovernmental strategy for large scale arrivals of refugee claimants to ensure appropriate supports are in place across Ontario, including reception programs and facilities outside of Toronto (especially near ports of entry), coordination to refer new arrivals across the province, and providing direct funding to refugee houses and refugee specific shelter providers in strategic locations across Ontario, including Toronto; and

d. recognize that permanent solutions to ending chronic homelessness are not possible without increased, long-term funding commitments and provide the capital and ongoing operating funding needed to meet the City of Toronto's supportive housing targets of 1,800 new supportive housing units every year for 10 years.

13. City Council direct the General Manager, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration to work with the Chief Technology Officer to post information:

1. In an open data format  on the City of Toronto Open Data portal for daily numbers of residents denied shelter at time of call (wrap-up code data) and how many people are denied shelter throughout the night (service queue data); and

2. On the City of Toronto website under the Housing and Homelessness Shelter Research and Reports “System Flow Data”.

The Director, Shelter, Support and Housing Administration gave a presentation on COVID-19 Shelter Transition and Relocation Plan Update.

This report provides an update on the COVID-19 Shelter Transition and Relocation Plan and outlines a phased workplan over the next 24 months. It requests the authorities required to implement this plan for 2022 and 2023, including the authority to enter into lease/licence extensions and agreements at emergency shelter program hotels and services to support those programs.

Over the past two years, the shelter system has undergone significant and dramatic transformation to respond to the unprecedented situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These actions have undoubtedly saved the lives of people experiencing homelessness, some of the most vulnerable people in our community.

While many of the pandemic measures introduced in the broader community are now lifting as a result of the provincial re-opening plan, or are anticipated to change in the coming months, in high-risk congregate settings like emergency shelters, similar to Long-Term Care Homes, continued measures are still recommended and a cautious approach is needed both to ensure continued vigilance against any future resurgence of COVID-19 and to ensure that learning from the pandemic contributes to a stronger and more effective shelter system going forward.

The significant changes introduced within the shelter system to respond to the pandemic while maintaining capacity – including opening of 27 new shelter locations for physical distancing - were implemented over the past two years and are not possible to suddenly reverse overnight but will require a planned and gradual transition. The events of the past two years have also created significant resource and staffing capacity challenges across the sector, similar to those challenges facing many other sectors, and further change, while required as part of the transition, needs to ensure the homelessness sector is not further destabilized. For these reasons, the transition plan outlined in this report is recommended to be phased in over the next 24 months.

There are currently 27 temporary shelter sites supporting the City's emergency COVID-19 response, serving approximately 3,200 people nightly to support physical distancing and to provide spaces for people to move indoors from encampments. These temporary sites are now providing approximately 40% of the total spaces in the City's shelter system. Approval of the recommendations in this report will ensure that these critical emergency shelter spaces are available for those in need beyond April 30, 2022, while the phased transition plan is implemented.

Along with the need for a gradual transition from the temporary sites, this report is not recommending a full return to the pre-COVID situation in the shelter system. While many of the restrictions in the broader community are being lifted, within congregate living settings like shelters, continued measures to protect against the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases is needed to protect vulnerable people. A vision for the future of the shelter system, based on learning from the experience of the pandemic and building on the Shelter Design and Technical Guidelines and the housing-focused service model set out in the Homelessness Solutions Service Plan will guide this transition, and capitalize on the opportunity to shape a housing and equity focused recovery. Investments in new affordable and supportive homes through the 24-Month Housing and Homelessness Plan are a significant opportunity to provide better outcomes for people, and shift from emergency responses to more permanent solutions.

At the same time, the shelter system continues to face significant pressures. The anticipated number of new arrivals of refugee claimants may surpass what was seen in 2018 and 2019. Ongoing uncoordinated release of people from provincial institutions like correctional and health facilities without adequate housing plans in place contribute to these pressures. In addition, economic uncertainty, eviction rates and a continuing worsening in housing affordability are putting more people at risk of homelessness.

This report identifies a recommended approach to transition that includes six core components of work which are currently underway and form the basis for the transition workplan. The report seeks City Council approval to extend the use of  sites currently serving as temporary shelters for COVID-19 response that have lease or agreement end dates in 2022. Another 10 temporary shelter sites that have existing authorities will continue operating as needed in 2023 and beyond. As part of phase 1 of the transition plan over the next 12 months, up to five temporary sites will be decommissioned. Based on learning from the first phase, decommissioning more sites is planned for phase 2 in 2023. If current projections change, the timelines for the plan will be revisited.

As part of the first phase, key indicators will be monitored and tracked to measure shelter demand and progress in implementing the transition plan. As new supportive and affordable housing opportunities become available for people experiencing chronic homelessness, existing shelter capacity will be freed up to be used for its originally intended purpose of short-term, emergency shelter, and advancing the City's goal of ensuring homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring.