Olivia Chow led her first city council meeting as Mayor of Toronto today and followed through on her promise to put forward a motion to address the issue of the affordable housing crisis not only for low-income residents, but also for refugees.

The motion was quickly passed by council.

Chow has spoken with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford and is confident the three levels of government can work together on solving this major dilemma.

Chow’s motion calls on council to open 150 more spaces “immediately”… primarily through renewing hotel contracts.

Another 100 spaces would be identified in the coming days, though she acknowledged that “finding space continues to be a challenge.”

Chow released a separate statement saying she and Premier Doug Ford are working together to address the issue through a one-time top-up to the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit.

Ford and Chow’s statement said Toronto and Ontario would each add a one-time $6.7-million top-up to a rent subsidy program, while calling on Ottawa to add another $26.7 million to the program.