The City of Toronto is facing a possible $50-million proposed class action lawsuit by refugee claimants who allege they weren’t given free shelter beds between 2022 and 2023.
The lawsuit, filed on May 30 in Ontario Superior Court, alleged the city violated the rights of refugee claimants.
It also claims the city breached its standards for shelter access.
The claim was brought forward by the Black Legal Action Centre, Lewis Litigation PC, and Stieber Berlach LLP on behalf of Wasiu Adekanmbi, a 40-year-old refugee claimant from Nigeria who invokes both Black and LGBTQ+ identity in his claim.
Adekanmbi moved to Toronto in September 2023 without housing plans but has since managed to find a job and now lives in Niagara Falls.
The statement of claim alleges that Toronto’s decision to restrict access to the majority of shelter beds for refugees between Nov. 7, 2022, and Oct. 1, 2023, was discriminatory and caused significant harm.
“Despite this knowledge and the observable impacts once the policy was enacted, including the exposure of thousands of vulnerable members of our society to homelessness, insecurity, and other adverse effects, the defendant failed to act promptly and reasonably to reverse its practices,” the claim states.
It further alleges the city’s actions were “systemically racist,” noting that many refugee claimants are from countries with large black populations.
“As a result of the defendant’s breaches, the class members suffered significant harms including but not limited to harm to their dignity, physical and psychological harm, and financial loss,” the statement said.
The lawsuit also covers individuals who were referred to federal agencies such as Service Canada and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for housing assistance
The plaintiffs say the referrals to the federal services were wrong
The City of Toronto confirmed it has received the statement of claim but made no further comments on the matter in an emailed statement to CP24.
The lawsuit follows a report released in December 2024 by Ombudsman Toronto, which claimed that the city’s decision to turn away refugee claimants from the taxpayer-funded shelters was “harmful.”
The city’s decision was reversed in July 2023 after two months of referrals directing asylum seekers to federal programs rather than city shelters.
Toronto City Council did not debate the report when it was tabled in December but voted to adopt most of its recommendations during its March 2025 meeting.
The lawsuit must be certified by a judge before it can proceed.
The leading nationality of persecution-based asylum claims in Canada are Indian nationals.