An estimated 1,100 people waited outside Mayor John Tory's condo in the cold, rainy weather on Sunday to protest the city's decision to take legal action against Khaleel Seivwright, the carpenter who's been making tiny insulated shelters for the homeless all winter.

The protest, organized by the Encampment Support Network (ESN), saw hundreds of Toronto residents leave their own notices of application on a cardboard cutout of Tory outside his condo at Bloor Bedford Parkette between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Feb. 28. 

"People were in high spirits, really driving a collective desire for change," Lorraine Lam, an outreach worker for Sanctuary, told blogTO of the protest, adding that seeing the diverse crowd persist through the uncomfortable weather was "super duper encouraging."

Justice-loving Torontonians line up around the block in February drizzle to support encampment residents. Guess our heart isn’t a parking lot after all. pic.twitter.com/kQLRp3h7pV

— Emily Paradis (@EmilyKParadis) February 28, 2021

The city filed an injunction against Seivwright in February demanding that he stop illegally placing his tiny shelters in parks, citing safety risks such as fires, but the decision quickly led to widespread outrage from members of the public who say the city should be thanking Seivwright for his dedication to helping those experiencing homelessness instead of punishing him.

That outrage was reflected in Sunday's turnout, which included Toronto residents of all ages. 

are you coming?! the young and less-young are serving up the mayor.
10-5pm anytime. meet at bloor-bedford parkette to head over. @ESN_TO pic.twitter.com/XbYuKwyazB

— Lorraine Lam (@lorrainelamchop) February 28, 2021

According to ESN, the supply of notices directed at Mayor Tory was actually depleted by mid-day, and residents were willing to wait 45 minutes in the rain while volunteers replenished the forms. 

The notices say they're from the "Superior Court of the People" between "Decent People" and "John Tory & His Developer Cronies," and they call on the mayor to drop the application against Seivwright, repeal the bylaw that prohibits camping in parks and build affordable housing.

"People are living in encampments because they have nowhere else to go," reads the form. "There is a pandemic, shelters are full and are rife with COVID outbreaks."

Today I joined hundreds of others in calling on the City of Toronto to stop targeting Khaleel & drop the disgusting lawsuit against him, stop criminalizing people living in encampments, and fund affordable housing solutions now!#HousingNotLawsuits #TOPoli pic.twitter.com/gjXk4kSupU

— BrynneSinclairWaters (@Brynne_SW) February 28, 2021

Protestors were invited to take a notice and sign it before taping it to a cardboard cutout of Tory, which served as a proxy for the mayor who was invited to come down and speak to residents but declined to do so.

By the end of the day, ESN says 1,100 notices were served by people in the city.

Lots of friends, @ESN_TO & citizens united in #toronto to serve @JohnTory notice of his failure to address homelessness & housing crises exacerbated by the pandemic. Instead he serves Black housing advocates with injunctions @TorTinyShelters. @thebikebrigade helped! #evicttory pic.twitter.com/K8NoNL52Rp

— Dave Shellnutt (He/Him) (@TheBikingLawyer) February 28, 2021

Necessary COVID-19 safety precautions were also maintained throughout the day as protestors donned masks and practiced physical distancing. 

it was 1100! https://t.co/kTZc1E7cgg

— Encampment Support Network Toronto (@ESN_TO) March 1, 2021

The city has argued that tiny shelters pose a safety risk to those experiencing homelessness as well as other Toronto residents since Seivwright first started building them in November. 

Last week, city spokesperson Brad Ross told blogTO that there's been a 250 per cent increase in encampment fires over 2019 as well as two fatalities related to encampment fires since the start of 2020.

But advocates have long countered that these makeshift shelters are often the best option in a city with a shelter system that is consistently at capacity and experiencing multiple COVID-19 outbreaks.

Charlotte an @ESN_TO volunteer - The People are serving @JohnTory 1. To stop the injunction! 2. To repeal the bylaws that criminalize people that live in parks. 3. To demand more RGI housing! a. Tiny Shelters have given people warmth & shelter b. A sense of autonomy #EvictTory https://t.co/Vv2CmMnrVw

— Shelter and Housing Justice Network (@SHJNetwork) March 1, 2021

They say the structures provide warmth, privacy, safety and autonomy — all of which are sorely lacking in city-run shelters.

"Eleven hundred people showed up to serve John Tory his papers of notice and to say that the city needs to publicly acknowledge the immensity of the crisis it created," Leeanne Beck, a local photo journalist and videographer who recently created a documentary about what it's like living in the Trinity Bellwoods encampments, told blogTO.

"We want John Tory and the City of Toronto to drop this injunction immediately. Repeal the bylaws that work to criminalize people just trying to stay alive. We needed this yesterday."