Environment Canada: Armoury and Government Tory

environment canada: Environment Canada has issued a new extreme cold warning advisory for the city, predicting overnight temperatures of as low as -25 C with wind chill values that could make it feel like -40 C. After nearly two weeks of similar conditions, Tory bowed to public pressure to seek permission to open the Moss Park Armoury, which is owned by the federal government, according to The Chronicle Herald. Tory says the city is asking Ottawa and the provincial government to determine whether the armoury would be suitable as a 24-hour winter respite centre that could remain open until April 15. Goodale says options are being evaluated to find the most effective solution as quickly as possible following a request from Toronto's mayor to open a federal armoury to shelter the homeless. To cope with Thursday's imminent cold snap, however, Tory says Toronto has opted to open two additional short-term warming centres downtown that will be available to residents for the duration of the cold weather warning, which is set to extend into the weekend. Tory said the prolonged spell of cold weather, combined with an influx of refugees over the past two years and a city-wide mental health crisis, has seen demand on the system soar 30 per cent from where it was at this time last year. Tory said the city will also be dispatching additional teams of outreach workers and deploying other staff to help with the expected influx of people tapping into the shelter system, which has come under unusual strain in recent weeks. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.