26 of 100 shelter beds occupied at Moss Park overnight, city says

The Moss Park shelter opened its doors Saturday at 7 p.m., two days earlier than originally planned, after a lengthy and at times contentious public debate as to whether it was the best option amid a frigid cold snap gripping Toronto.

The site, set to remain open 24 hours per day for two weeks,has 100 cots available.

Respite centres 'busy'

At a news conference on Saturday, Mayor John Tory announced a number of temporary measures intended to help staff cope with "unprecedented" demand for shelter space.

Among those measures was a move to make the Wellesley Community Centre available as a warming centre.

According to the city, only one person was at the site as of 4 a.m. Sunday, so it will revert back to regular community programming moving forward.

Outreach teams operating from 11 p.m.to 7 a.m. attended to some 44 people throughout the night, though only three accepted shelter.

Advocates have been critical of the city's handling of the ongoing shelter crisis. Street nurse Cathy Crowetold CBC Toronto this weekend that Tory and his staff have been too reluctant to use the armoury as a shelter, adding it only happened after advocates "exposed" just how high demand has reached.

A number of prominent city councillors have joined calls for Toronto to build 1,000 new, permanent shelter spaces in 2018.