Federal Government Commits Increased Funding to Alleviate Refugee Housing Crisis.

The Canadian Government Increases Funding to Accommodate Growing Number of Asylum Seekers.

In an announcement on Wednesday, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Marc Miller revealed that over $362 million will be distributed to provinces and cities grappling with an influx of refugee claimants in Canada.

This funding initiative falls under the federal government’s Interim Housing Assistance Program. Minister Miller specified that $100 million of the newly allocated funds will be designated for the province of Quebec.

Further specifics regarding the allocation of the funds will be disclosed in the forthcoming days.

“This program is important because it gets shelters over people’s heads, particularly with the temperature that it is outside. But it needs reform, and that’s something that will have to be worked on … in the coming months,” he said.

“I think we owe it to Canadians to reform a system that has very much been a stopgap measure since 2017 to deal with large historic flows of migration.”

 

The increased funding follows appeals from premiers and mayors for greater federal assistance.

Quebec Premier François Legault penned a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this month, highlighting the strain on government services due to the escalating number of asylum seekers.

In his letter, Legault urged the federal government to mitigate the influx of asylum seekers and to shoulder the financial burden of providing services to those already residing in Quebec.

Quebec’s Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette described Wednesday’s announcement as a ‘first step,’ emphasizing the need for Ottawa to provide additional funding and enact reforms to the immigration system.

Paul Calandra, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, echoed Fréchette’s sentiments, underlining the shared concerns.

“We expect the federal government not only to reimburse us for the entire $470 million, but also to change the way it manages visas to reduce the flow of asylum seekers,” she said.

It ‘fails to address Toronto’s needs, let alone those of other municipalities grappling with the mounting pressures from rising numbers of asylum claimants,’ he expressed in a joint statement with Ontario Immigration Minister David Piccini.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has similarly requested additional federal funding to support the city in accommodating asylum seekers. Miller stated on Wednesday that the City of Toronto would receive a ‘significant amount’ of the funding, although he did not disclose the precise figure.

“The federal government needs to take responsibility for the crisis it created and provide the necessary funding to address it.”

Although housing and support for asylum seekers fall under the jurisdiction of provincial and municipal governments, Ottawa has consistently provided additional top-up payments, such as this recent one, to alleviate the burden.

As of last week, approximately 7,300 asylum claimants requiring housing were accommodated in around 4,000 hotel rooms across six provinces, courtesy of the federal government.

Miller noted that many asylum seekers tend to flock to major municipalities like Montreal and Toronto due to employment opportunities or established communities.

He acknowledged that the current system is ‘imperfect’ and not sustainable as a long-term solution.