Build it and they will come.
This take on the actual quote from the movie Field of Dreams (the statement was, “If you build it, he will come,” referring to the legendary ball player “Shoeless” Joe Jackson) means, if you believe in something strongly enough, it will become reality.
It has acquired other shades of meaning, primarily that you have to invest to get a payout.
Recent occurrences in Toronto have added another meaning: Stop inviting them to come unless you cough up the cash to look after them.
The heartbreaking plight of refugees sleeping on the streets, while the city and upper-tier governments duked it out over who pays to house them, has been resolved, at least temporarily, with the federal government pledging more funding.
What happened was the City of Toronto, with a homeless shelter system stretched beyond its limits, decided the federal government should look after refugees. A number of news stories have quoted city officials as saying refugees made up a third of those in Toronto’s shelter system.
To borrow another movie quote, what put the people on the street was a “perfect storm.”
The movie of the same title told the tale of three weather events converging to create a storm of horrifying intensity. The term has come to mean separate components, none of which is particularly serious, joining to create a real mess.
In the case of the refugees, the storm started with a post-COVID labour shortage in Canada – the feds rolled out the welcome mat to immigrants. Add strife in various African countries that forced many to flee to “safe” countries like Canada. Then add a desperate shortage of housing in this country. If we throw in government officials using the safety and well-being of refugees – human beings who have already suffered greatly – as a bargaining chip, we have as perfect a storm as we could imagine.
It should be noted that what got the people off Toronto sidewalks where they were at the mercy of the elements, and into a building, where there were showers, meals and medical attention, was community action, not government co-operation. The people were brought by bus to Revivaltime Tabernacle, and various groups have been donating food.
Although it hit Toronto first and hardest, the storm is having an impact on rural Ontario as well.
This community has seen businesses cut back hours and even close, for want of staff. There are good jobs available in every sector, from agriculture to health care to retail to construction. A sudden influx of people to fill those jobs is something to be both welcomed and dreaded – we need them, but we have no place for them to live.
We barely have enough housing for the people already here, especially those trying to survive on modest incomes. Every community has people camping under a bridge, living in their cars or sleeping in doorways. Waiting lists for subsidized apartments are getting longer by the day.
There are municipal officials in rural Ontario who have come to terms with the “build it and they will come” reality, that failure to build it means they will not come, and if they do, they will not stay long enough to become contributing members of the community. These officials have been doing their utmost to machete their way through red tape and forge partnerships with builders and non-profits to get some affordable housing.
Resolving the housing crisis means looking at all income levels, not just building for those earning Sunshine List salaries. There must be housing for minimum wage workers, pensioners and refugees just getting started on what everyone hopes will be a prosperous and happy life for them and their families in Canada.
There is little any single level of government can accomplish on its own. Building co-operation among all government levels, the private sector and non-profits will not be easy, but it can indeed happen if we work at it hard enough. Build it and the desperately needed affordable housing will come.
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Pauline Kerr is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter currently working for Midwestern Newspapers. She can be reached at pkerr@midwesternnewspapers.com.
