Toronto gets armoury shelter just in time for coldest night of year

Federal MP Ralph Goodale has announced that, after weeks of campaigning on the part of advocates and politicians, Toronto will finally #OpenTheArmouries to its vulnerable homeless population.

One of the armouries, at least. For two weeks.

"The Government of Canada has accepted the request from Toronto and Ontario to temporarily make the Moss Park Armoury available as a 24/7 warming centre for 2 weeks," wrote Goodale, Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, on Twitter Friday afternoon.

Spoke with Mayor @JohnTory. Our Government is making the Moss Park Armoury temporarily available as an emergency warming centre for 2 weeks. We are all working together to help keep people out of the cold.

— Harjit Sajjan (@HarjitSajjan) January 5, 2018

Details are still sparse, but the news is surely welcome to many as Toronto scrambles to protect its homeless residents from unrelenting, deadly cold weather despite a city-wide shelter bed shortage.

Moss Park 's armoury is expected to open in "a matter of hours," according to Spadina—Fort York MP Adam Vaughan. 

The armoury is expected to provide up to 100 new spaces as Toronto heads into one of its coldest weekends of the season yet.