Homeless man found 'frozen to death' in downtown Ottawa, councillor says

Somerset ward councillor Ariel Troster says she's "devastated" after a man sleeping in the streets of downtown Ottawa was found "frozen to death" on Monday.

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Ottawa police say they received a call for a person in medical distress near Elgin Street and Cooper Street at approximately 4:30 a.m.

Paramedics say they found an adult male in his 40's in cardiac arrest. He was transported to hospital in life-threatening condition, paramedics say.

Police confirmed he later died in hospital.

In a post on social media, Troster said the man died from being out in the freezing cold. Overnight temperatures on Monday hit a low of -17 C with a wind chill of -24.

"I was devastated to find out that a man was found frozen to death yesterday morning on Elgin Street. This is the exact scenario that the city has been working hard to prevent, but this failure is on all of us," she said.

"Ending homelessness is our most urgent crisis. I will continue to push the city and all levels of govt to do better. The answer is HOUSING, with supports when needed. Period."

Troster's office declined a CTV News request for an interview and would not provide further details.

Police would not confirm the man's cause of death. The death is not being considered suspicious.

The man's family has been notified, police said. 

Volunteers undertook a point-in-time count last fall, to determine how many people in the city are experiencing homelessness.

"The last count showed over 3000 people," said Ashley Porter with the Ottawa Mission. "We don't know that that number is completely accurate. We tend to believe that it's higher than that. And that's why we continue to call on every level of government to help us build sustainable housing, because there's only one way that we get out of this problem, and that that's by putting more people into homes."

The Salvation Army says there are about 300 people actively living in the streets in Ottawa.

"What we noticed over the Christmas break is that temperatures were fairly mild for this time of the year, which, unfortunately, means that everything got wet. So boots, sleeping bags, socks, all that kind of stuff was wet," said Salvation Army spokesperson Mikya Tacilauskas.

"Now, what we're seeing is it's wet and very, very cold outside and when individuals sleep outdoors, they don't have the ability to dry their gear. Often that means is that it will stay wet for longer and that poses a significant risk to our population."

Homeless youth are also at risk, says John Heckbert, executive director of Operation Come Home.

"This year our drop-in numbers are quite high. It's essentially double what we had seen in 2021. The majority of our clients grew up in Ottawa and surrounding areas and have either left home for safety or they have left foster care," he told CTV News Ottawa. "It's not safe to try and sleep outdoors, it is not safe if they think they can tough it out. Temperatures can fall very quickly and things what they think will be adequate to keep them warm may not be. The cold is cumulative, you start cold and get colder and there is no respite from that."

The Salvation Army says to call 311 if you see an unhoused person who requires support. 

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Peter Szperling and Shaun Vardon