Weeks after it was reported that asylum seekers had to sleep on the streets of Toronto due to a lack of shelter space, the federal government on Tuesday announced additional housing support for asylum claimants in Canada.
Immigration minister Sean Fraser, who made the announcement in Moncton, N.B., said this support will come through a one-time injection of approximately $212 million in funding into the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP), which will be extended until March 31, 2024.
“This includes approximately $97 million in new funding for the City of Toronto. IHAP provides funding on a cost-sharing basis to provinces and municipalities for the costs of interim housing for asylum claimants,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a release Tuesday.
It added this was in addition to $700 million previously delivered under the program, including over $215 million for the City of Toronto.
“Canada will continue to support the world’s most vulnerable people who seek our protection. Today, we have committed additional funds to ensure cities like Toronto have the capacity to keep a roof over the head of asylum seekers fleeing violence, war and persecution,” Fraser said in a statement.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland added that “the City of Toronto has no better partner than our federal government.”
“Today’s funding announcement builds on our record of partnering with municipalities, including Toronto, to ensure that those seeking refuge and safety in Canada receive the support they deserve,” she said in a statement.
Last week, it was reported that city shelters in Toronto were packed to capacity and the city recently changed its policy regarding asylum seekers, referring them to the federal government rather than paying for their shelter spaces.
The ensuing result has seen people arriving from Pearson International Airport to the streets of Toronto, where they have been left to wait in the hot sun or rain.
More than 35 per cent of the 9,000 people taking up spaces in Toronto’s shelter system are refugees, according to Shelter, Support and Housing Administration (SSHA).
Getting federal funding to house them has been an issue for city leaders.
Both former mayor John Tory and deputy mayor Jennifer McKelvie tried for several months collectively to get funding from Ottawa to house refugee claimants and both failed. The city’s new mayor, Olivia Chow, has vowed to succeed where her predecessors did not.
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