Trudeau Government Called Upon to Do More for Refugee Claimants and "Other Newcomers"
The Trudeau Liberal government, through its Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller, announced on January 31 that more than $362 million in new money was being allocated to Quebec, the provinces and cities struggling to cope with a rising number of refugee claimants.
Of that money, $100 million has been earmarked for Quebec and $143 million for Toronto, under the federal government's Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP). Miller remarked that IHAP needs reform, which will have to be worked out in the coming months, as the system "has very much been a stopgap measure since 2017 to deal with large historic flows of migration."
A further $19.75 million top-up is being provided to the City of Toronto's share of the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, which provides direct financial support to low-income renters to help them cover the cost of rent.
In response to Miller's announcement on funding for Quebec, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette said that this is a "first step," but wants more funding as well as changes made to the immigration system.
"We expect the federal government not only to reimburse us for the entire $470 million," she said, "but also to change the way it manages visas to reduce the flow of asylum seekers," she said.
A Glimpse at the Bigger Picture
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet sponsored the following motion, which was adopted in the House of Commons on February 12, with 173 in favour (Bloc, Conservatives, NDP, Green Party) and 150 (Liberals) opposed:
"That the House:
"(a) recall its unanimous vote of November 1, 2023, calling on the government 'to review its immigration targets starting in 2024, after consultation with Quebec, the provinces and territories, based on their integration capacity, particularly in terms of housing, health care, education, French language training and transportation infrastructure, all with a view to successful immigration;'
"(b) call on the Prime Minister to convene a meeting with his counterparts of Quebec, the provinces and the territories in order to consult them on their respective integration capacities;
"(c) call on the government to table in the House, within 100 days, a plan for revising federal immigration targets in 2024 based on the integration capacity of Quebec, the provinces and the territories;
(d) call on the government to table in the House, within 100 days, a report on the gap between the resources that are needed to align federal immigration targets in 2024 and the capacity of Quebec, provinces and territories to successfully resettle newcomers; and
"(e) call on the government to table in the House, within 100 days, a plan to ensure adequate resources are provided to Quebec, provinces and territories to support the successful resettlement of newcomers."
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 14 - February 28, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS541410.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca