{"id":114286,"date":"2023-04-14T10:15:46","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T14:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/immigration.ca\/canada-to-spend-1-billion-on-asylum-seekers-this-year-despite-closing-unofficial-border-crossings\/"},"modified":"2023-04-14T10:15:46","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T14:15:46","slug":"canada-to-spend-1-billion-on-asylum-seekers-this-year-despite-closing-unofficial-border-crossings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/immigration.ca\/fr\/canada-to-spend-1-billion-on-asylum-seekers-this-year-despite-closing-unofficial-border-crossings\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada To Spend $1 Billion On Asylum Seekers This Year Despite Closing Unofficial Border Crossings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Asylum seekers and refugees<\/a>\u00a0are going to benefit from a much-higher level of funding for accommodations and temporary healthcare coverage – $1 billion\u2019s worth as earmarked in Ottawa\u2019s latest budget – even after the inking of a new deal to close unofficial border crossings into Canada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The National Post <\/i>daily newspaper has reported the latest budget from Ottawa would see $1 billion spent in the next fiscal year, with $530 million for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to provide short-term accommodations to asylum-seekers.<\/p>\n

Another $469 million will be spent to provide temporary healthcare coverage to asylum-seekers and refugees not yet eligible for provincial or territorial health insurance.<\/p>\n

According to the newspaper, IRCC revealed in early March it has provided the provinces and municipalities with $551.6 million since 2017 through its Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) to \u201calleviate asylum-related housing pressures\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Canadian immigration department also reportedly spent another roughly $136 million between March 20, 2020 and Jan. 31, 2023 on \u201ctemporary accommodations\u201d for migrants illegally crossing at Roxham Road.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven together, the totals average less than $150 million a year,\u201d reports the National Post.<\/p>\n

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Read More<\/b><\/p>\n

Start-Up Visa Program Off To Strong Start In 2023<\/a>
\nOntario Injects Another $25m Into OINP To Handle Growth In Immigration<\/a>
\nCanada Job Vacancies Rise To Hit More Than 883,000<\/a><\/p>\n

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The boost in spending on accommodations and healthcare for asylum-seekers and refugees came only three days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and United States President Joe Biden signed the latest version of Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), a move intended to plug a loophole that previously allowed migrants to cross illegally into Canada along its almost 8,900-km border with America.<\/p>\n

The deal came after talks between Trudeau and the American president at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles in June last year. At that time, Canada agreed to accept 4,000 more migrants annually by 2028.<\/p>\n

Under the latest STCA agreement struck between the two leaders, any migrants trying to cross illegally into Canada are to be returned to the United States. Once there, they can make a legal claim for asylum into Canada.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Roxham Road Saw 39,000 Migrants Enter Last Year<\/h3>\n

The STCA, originally inked in 2004, only applied that policy to official border crossings, leaving migrants free to cross at unofficial border crossings, such as Roxham Road, and stay in Canada while awaiting hearings or decisions on their cases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, a reported 39,000 migrants crossed into Canada illegally at\u00a0Roxham\u00a0Road<\/p>\n

With the new STCA, that flow of illegal migrants has apparently come to a stop.<\/p>\n

But migrants\u2019 rights groups are protesting the new agreement. NewsMaxWorld reports dozens of protesters gathered in front of Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, Canada\u2019 previous immigration minister, to demand an end to the agreement after eight people died in an apparent attempt to cross the border illegally.<\/p>\n

\u2018People Are Dying\u2019<\/h3>\n

\u201cPeople are continuing to die,\u201d Syed Hussan, executive director of Migrant Workers Alliance, reportedly said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe denial of permanent residence status has become a death sentence in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

That group organized the protest and handed in a petition with thousands of signatures calling for the end of STCA and demanding permanent resident status for all migrants.<\/p>\n

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Video<\/b><\/p>\n