New Toronto location offers TI a site to grow

This article was updated at 11:55 a.m. on Oct. 25, 2022

Darryl Day stands in the sunlight of the floor-to-ceiling windows at Tungasuvvingat Inuit’s new satellite office in downtown Toronto, and he can’t help but smile.

The official opening of the site is not for a few more weeks and Day, a youth life promotion worker at TI, is candid but confident about the work left to be done.

He’s also optimistic about expanding the agency’s support of the urban Inuit community in and around the Toronto area.

“It has been fun, and I keep looking forward to ‘what can we offer next,’” said Day, during a tour of the new space that will employ three full-time staff.

Sunny and bright, the TI’s new gathering space offers a warm, and fully accessible, welcome, complete with elevator access. (Photo by Andrea Sakiyama Kennedy)

Pre-pandemic, Tungasuvvingat Inuit had rented space alongside other Indigenous organizations serving the Toronto area, but it was cramped, and offered limited accessibility for anyone in a wheelchair or pushing a stroller.

This new, independent and fully accessible 2,000-square-foot location is a big step forward in its mission to be a one-stop resource and support centre for all urban Inuit living in Ontario.

The exact slate and schedule of programs is still being determined, but core services in family well-being, youth programs and cultural workshops and programming will carry on in the new space.

When TI, a not-for-profit service provider, first opened its doors in Ottawa in 1987, the Ontario Inuit population totalled about 100. In the 35 years since then, demand for support and services has grown steadily as the population grew to 4,310, according 2021 census data.

Its new Toronto space occupies part of the the second floor at 145 Front St. E., a few blocks from the historic St. Lawrence Market, the location was chosen for its proximity to Union station, a hub for rail transit from across southern Ontario.

Although the Ottawa-Gatineau area is home to the largest Inuit population in Ontario, with 1,730 members as of 2021, the Toronto area has experienced a steady increase with members living in areas from Niagara Falls and around Toronto west to London.

“Access to Inuit culture and supports in Toronto is long overdue, and we are excited that we are able to grow in capacity and offer a home for urban Inuit in the [Toronto area].” said Judy Anilniliak, acting executive director for TI Ontario, in an email.

The layout, with high ceilings and glass partitions, offers bright common areas for gatherings, balanced with private offices and dedicated space for things like a sewing room and storage for the all-important country food freezers.

Day said expanding delivery of country food to even more community members outside the GTA is one of the best parts of his job, giving him a chance to visit and bring the gift and taste of home to urban Inuit living in the south.

“Country food is what helps the community be open, and be happy, and be excited to come to our spaces and be a big family, and be joyous like Inuit are,” he said.

“That’s what it means to have country food, and being able to share, in Toronto in 2022.”

This article was updated to include the square footage of Tungasuvvingat Inuit’s new site