On Wednesday February 27, 2008, a homeless Aboriginal man was found frozen to death in a downtown stairwell.

The death of this man rests with City officials. Rather than claiming adequate services exist for homeless people, as City officials did just two weeks ago, the municipal government must take responsibility for this preventable death and ensure not one more such terrible loss occurs.

On Wednesday February 27, 2008, a homeless Aboriginal man was found frozen to death in a downtown stairwell.

The death of this man rests with City officials. Rather than claiming adequate services exist for homeless people, as City officials did just two weeks ago, the municipal government must take responsibility for this preventable death and ensure not one more such terrible loss occurs.

Just six days before the death, City of Toronto officials were warned that such a tragedy would occur, if the crisis facing homeless people was not immediately addressed. City councilors heard numerous urgent deputations from social service agencies and homeless people, warning that the huge cuts to services had forced people into a very dangerous situation.

"Not only do crowded hostels create violence and psychological damage, but many people will face the bracing cold of February and could sustain cold injuries and even perish," warned Gaetan Heroux of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. Now, this dire warning has proven true.

This preventable tragedy echoes the freezing deaths of three men in the winter of 1996. Following these horrible events, City officials took limited steps and opened the Moss Park Armory for urgent shelter space.

Today, the City government is in the process of dismantling the hostel system in the downtown core. Before this winter even began, five shelters in the downtown core were shut down. The total number of hostel beds lost was 312. These shelters provided more than 340,000 meals and supplied 113,880 beds annually. Over the last decade the city has refused to address the serious over- crowding and lack of beds that exist in the shelter system.

We cannot bring this man back. But we can demand no further deaths occur. Surely the basic right to life, shelter and food cannot be denied by the City of Toronto. Once again, OCAP is demanding that City officials immediately provide essential emergency services for homeless people.

Over 50 people came out on very short notice in support of this man and the homeless people forced to stay out in freezing temperatures. OCAP made it clear today that when City Council refuses to listed when we address them nicely that we will do whatever it takes to get people the food and shelter need.

For more information, go to the CTV report