Big turnout for London sanctuary city discussion

The debate over whether London should become a sanctuary city drew a crowd at the Goodwill Career Centre Thursday night.

Hundreds of Londoners and some city councillors attended the meeting aimed at informing Londoners about what a sanctuary city is while also getting their input on how it should operate in the Forest City.

If London were to follow through on its plans, the designation would allow undocumented immigrants to have full access to local services regardless of their situation.

No One Is Illegal spokeswoman Selma Tobah said it’s important people have access to local services regardless of their documentation status.

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“Municipal services include police, shelters, libraries, fire, paramedic and public health. Those are different than provincial and federal services, there’s an important distinction to be made there,” Tobah told AM980.

Share this on X Click to share quote on X: "Municipal services include police, shelters, libraries, fire, paramedic and public health. Those are different than provincial and federal services, there's an important distinction to be made there," Tobah told AM980.

Councillors responded quickly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban last month and voted unanimously to make London a sanctuary city but little has happened since the Jan. 30 vote.

The motion directed staff to work with a diversity committee to develop the appropriate arrangements to make it official and to have Mayor Matt Brown and staff co-ordinate with the federal government.

Overall, Tobah says Londoners have responded positively to the motion.

“There has been some backlash saying that we should reject this motion but for the most part I think Londoners are witnessing what’s happening south of the border and they’re saying we don’t want that to happen here. That’s not the country or the city we want to live in,” Tobah said.

City staff will take recommendations from Thursday night’s discussion and report back to the strategic priorities and policy committee at a later date.

On Monday, Montreal city council passed a motion to declare itself a sanctuary city joining Toronto, Hamilton and London. Fredericton, N.B., Mayor Mike O’Brien said Wednesday he was also considering declaring his city a sanctuary city.