Article content
In just over two months, more than 1,100 Roxham Road refugees have been bused to Windsor as part of Ottawa’s response to Quebec complaining its housing and social services were coming under too great a strain from a sudden influx of asylum seekers.
Advertisement 2
Article content
But now Windsor is similarly urging the federal government to ease off on the flow of those charter buses due to the same strains on local housing, health and social services.
“We do want to play our part, but it is concerning,” Mayor Drew Dilkens said of the ever-increasing number of arrivals. “It puts strain on all our systems.”
Administration is seeking city council’s support on Monday for a letter to Ottawa stating Windsor “does not have the capacity or resources to support additional asylum claimants.”
But with up to 200 refugees a day still pouring across that one spot along the Quebec/New York border, the federal government is hoping Windsor can continue to roll out the welcome mat.
Windsor stepped up in a big way when Ottawa called out for volunteer communities across Canada in 2015 to open their doors to some of the millions of Syrians fleeing war at home. The response by the Windsor Essex Local Immigration Partnership, encompassing dozens of willing and helpful organizations, was touted by the federal government as a model for others to emulate.
Advertisement 3
Article content
When it comes to Roxham Road, however, city officials received an email from the federal government on Dec. 30, during the holiday season, advising it was securing local hotel rooms and would start busing in Roxham Road asylum claimants. The first of a steady flow since of chartered buses arrived just days later, on Jan. 4.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” said Stephen Lynn, Windsor’s manager of social policy and planning. “We were told 175 hotel rooms had been secured … and they’d be reaching out to us for follow-up,” he told the Star.
City officials were also initially told those hotel rooms were booked until the end of March. But then the city was subsequently informed two more Windsor hotels had been secured for Roxham Road refugees, and then the city learned those rooms were booked until the end of June.
Article content
Advertisement 4
Article content
“In December, they made it sound like a fairly small number and a limited time,” said Dilkens.
As of March 8, 1,108 asylum seekers had arrived in Windsor from Quebec on buses chartered by the federal government, and there are now 439 leased rooms at three hotels.
With the Syrian appeal eight years ago, Windsor would eventually become home to more than 2,000 refugees fleeing that war, so “we’ve had a lot of experience, we had some level of understanding as to what types of supports are required,” said Lynn.
There’s a big difference now, however. The refugees from Syria were government assisted or privately sponsored. They were vetted abroad and arrived with permanent residency status, work permits in hand and with up to a year’s worth of federal financial and other public and private sponsorship.
Advertisement 5
Article content
But for asylum seekers who simply cross the border away from official ports of entry, like those from Roxham Road, “there are no supports lined up — these refugee claimants start from a completely different place,” said Mike Morency, executive director of Matthew House. “Here, it’s, ‘We’ve allowed you into the country, and that’s where the support ends.'”
Not quite, but it’s a far tougher slog for any asylum seeker walking across the international boundary at Roxham Road and into the embrace of the RCMP.
Crossing at Roxham Road with nowhere to go means initial hotel room-and-board, courtesy of the federal government, but nothing else is guaranteed. Under international conventions, Canada cannot simply turn away someone requesting asylum, but the government isn’t required to cover their expenses once they’re here and awaiting the review of their refugee claim.
Advertisement 6
Article content
And the clock on getting approval to stay starts ticking as soon as they pass the first border screening, with asylum seekers given 45 days to submit their refugee claims or it’s “sorry, go back to your home,” said Morency. But there’s paperwork in a foreign language to track down and process, legal assistance to be obtained and many boxes needing to be checked off.
After successfully meeting that deadline, Morency said the refugee claimants helped by Matthew House are currently waiting two to eight months before they can even get a work permit. Waiting for a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to obtain status as a “convention refugee” and be able to remain here, he added, can take up to three years.
Advertisement 7
Article content
City administration on Monday will be asking for council’s support in requesting that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) either slow down the flow of asylum claimants, or that senior governments provide additional “significant resources … to respond to the new pressures placed on already stressed systems.”
There are still 100 to 200 asylum claimants arriving daily at Roxham Road, said Scott Harris, an associate deputy minister with the IRCC.
It’s why welcoming host cities like Windsor are still much in demand.
Last year, about 39,000 of the close to 82,000 asylum claimants arriving in Canada entered into Quebec outside of official ports of entry, mostly Roxham Road, south of Montreal. New York City’s mayor is offering a big incentive — free bus tickets to any migrants who wish to relocate, resulting in busloads of Canada-bound migrants being shuttled to upstate Plattsburgh, where taxis are filling up for the half-hour drive north to Roxham Road.
Advertisement 8
Article content
“Windsor has been a very strong partner, and we wish that to continue,” the ministry’s Harris told the Star, adding his department is mindful of the issues raised by Windsor’s city administration in its report to council.
“We’re aware of some of the strain, particularly on (Windsor’s) social assistance infrastructure,” he said. “We want to be very attentive to your concerns.”
There have already been discussions between the ministry and Windsor officials, including a March 1 meeting between Dilkens, IRCC Minister Sean Fraser and Windsor-Tecumseh (Lib) MP Irek Kusmierczyk. The mayor said Fraser was “extremely receptive” to Windsor’s concerns, including the additional strain on staff assisting with the sudden surge in refugee claimants.
Advertisement 9
Article content
“We’re trying to find the positive here — how can we help them integrate?” Dilkens said of the newcomers.
Speeding up access to work permits would help, he said, and Ottawa is currently working on developing a “skills inventory” to match the asylum seekers to job openings in the community currently going unfilled, like in construction.
The IRCC’s Harris told the Star that Ottawa has been working with municipalities to see where it might be able to offer direct help. Health care, housing, social services and education are usually all funded and delivered at the provincial and local levels of government.
While Ottawa has leased more than 400 hotel rooms in Windsor so far, Harris said the average stay for asylum claimants has been about 40 days before they move out into the community. He said assistance with housing is one area where Ottawa could provide additional help at the local level.
Advertisement 10
Article content
“It’s still early days. We’ve just had some initial discussion on what programs the feds have,” said the city’s Lynn. A big concern locally, he said, is ensuring that, as more claimants are bused in, “those already here don’t become worse off. A significant number are without any supports.”
To put the two-month influx of 1,100 Roxham Road refugees coming to Windsor into perspective, the city usually hosts 400 to 500 government-sponsored refugee claimants in an average year. Last year, that figure shot up to 1,800, in part due to Canada’s international commitment to provide refuge for some among the millions fleeing the war in Ukraine and following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.
Advertisement 11
Article content
That Roxham Road figure only includes those being bused in by the government. Matthew House is hosting a number of asylum claimants who crossed at that location but who made it on their own to Windsor.
“Everyone is focusing on the IRCC hotel program, but what’s lost here are the number of asylum applicants arriving at regular ports of entry,” said Morency. Currently, Matthew House is full, with 78 residents, but the volunteer-supported organization is also supporting 47 others sheltered in other locations across the city.
“They’re not here for a our health care, refugee claimants don’t want our social assistance. They want to rebuild their lives,” said Morency.
To achieve that, he said, “they need specialized help.” One of the most important things, he added, is providing the proper supports “so they can tell their stories where they need to be told,” stories covering everything from escaping war, violence and abuse, to fleeing famine or persecution.
Said Dilkens: “They see Canada as the great place we know it is.”
Too many, too fast? Over 1,100 Roxham Road refugees bused to Windsor - Windsor Star
Read More
Comments
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
Join the Conversation