Death toll rises as temperatures plunge; Mayor urges warming centres to open
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, January 6, 2015, 2:46 PM - A man is dead after police found him in a streetcar shelter at Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, in negative-double-digit temperatures, wearing only a t-shirt for warmth.
On Tuesday, the call to open warming centres in the city to help protect the homeless was made by mayor John Tory.
#BREAKING: Mayor's office says Tory has asked the city manager to open the warming centres. Should happen immediately. #TOpoli
— 680News Toronto (@680News) January 6, 2015
The temperature in Toronto early Tuesday morning was in the low negative double-digits, but the wind chill made it feel closer to -20.
Toronto Police spokeswoman Cst. Jenifferjit Sidhu told The Weather Network police received a call at 5:26 a.m. to attend to a man lying down in the shelter.
Sidhu said the man appeared to be in his 40s, and was breathing when he was found. He was wearing only a t-shirt and jeans.
He was taken to St. Michael's Hospital, possibly suffering from hypothermia. Sidhu said she did not have an update on the man's condition when contacted by The Weather Network, but Global News is reporting the man has died in hospital.
On Monday, Newstalk 1010 says another man was found dead, apparently having taken shelter in a truck at a shipping yard.
