Community groups are pushing for a long-term solution to avoid the shelter crunch that had stranded asylum seekers on Toronto streets — and some are even open to flying claimants across Canada.
As the City of Toronto ramps up its shelter capacity, and roughly 300 refugee claimants stay overnight at two Toronto churches, there’s a huge need for volunteers to help get them into a process to determine their refugee status and also get work permits and income to support themselves, said Okie Eghobor of the Nigerian Canadian Association.
“If you are caught there you are imprisoned, even penalized for it. We had to run for our lives,” he said in an interview. Figures provided by the federal government say refugee claimants are now housed in 751 rooms in 10 hotels in Quebec, and 2737 rooms in 17 hotels in Ontario, with the lion’s share in Niagara Falls.
“The shelter systems are completely saturated and the housing crisis is so acute all over the country that people aren’t able to access secure temporary or permanent accommodation,” she said.
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