After their first face-to-face meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that he didn’t think Premier Doug Ford had a good understanding of Canada’s asylum-seeker commitments.
I suspect that it’s only one of many policies that Ford doesn’t have a handle on, but that shouldn’t preclude the concern that Ontario and other provinces have about the policy, namely that it is woefully underfunded by the federal government.
Ottawa has pledged $50 million to the provinces that accept the asylum seekers, but that doesn’t begin to cover the costs of giving safe refuge and a start of a new life to those who seek our help.
Quebec alone estimates their cost at about $146 million because they rightly include ongoing costs for housing and settlement, yet they’re only in line for about $36 million.
It’s not a new issue; for years now, federal governments have passed on the lion’s share of immigration and refugee costs to the provinces and municipalities.
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Canada is a welcoming and compassionate country and we should be proud that we offer refuge to distressed families, especially in light of the fiasco that’s happening to the south of us.
But, the government can’t just open the door and then tell the provinces and cities that it’s their responsibility to cover the cost.
We want to do the right thing, but the federal government needs to step up and provide the money to make it happen.
Bill Kelly is the host of the Bill Kelly Show on Global News Radio 900 CHML
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