The provincial government of Ontario “straining to support a high number of the illegal border crossers” has formally requested $200 million from Ottawa to cover the costs of dealing with thousands of asylum seekers crossing into the province from the United States.
In a letter to her federal counterpart Jean-Yves Duclos, Ontario’s Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Lisa MacLeod expressed concern over Ottawa’s “approach to the issue of illegal border crossing.”
Ontario is a welcoming province and generously supports immigrants and refugees, MacLeod wrote.
But there is only so much the province can do, she said.
“For more than a year, communities across Ontario have been straining to support a high number of the illegal border crossers, and the approach of the federal government is now testing the patience and generosity of Ontarians,” she said.
Canada received 47,800 refugee claimants in 2017, more than twice the number in 2016. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press/Aug. 4, 2017)
Since January 2016, Ontario has received over 36,000 refugee claimants, she said.
In addition, over 5,500 refugee claimants who made their claim in Quebec have reported moving to Ontario since January 2017.
In the City of Toronto, about 45 per cent of shelter occupants are refugees.
“Our government estimates the cost to Ontario so far to support the crossers to be $200 million,” McLeod said. “Federal support to date has been inadequate to meet the current and future needs posed by this crisis.”
So far, Ottawa has offered up $50 million to provinces coping with the influx. That sum includes $36 million for Quebec, $3 million for Manitoba and $11 million for Ontario. However, the money for Ontario was funnelled directly to Toronto, which has received the lion’s share of migrants who decided to settle in the province.
At a meeting of the country’s premiers earlier this month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard and Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister announced that they would continue to press for the federal government to boost financial support for the provinces.
Letter From Minister Lisa MacLeod by Levon Sevunts on Scribd
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