Ontario mayors seek help, clarity from Ottawa to support Roxham Road asylum seekers
CTV
The mayors of three Ontario cities are calling on the federal government to help them support asylum seekers being transferred to their communities after entering the country through an unofficial border crossing in Quebec.
The mayors of three Ontario cities are calling on the federal government to help them support asylum seekers being transferred to their communities after entering the country through an unofficial border crossing in Quebec.
The leaders of Niagara Falls, Cornwall and Windsor say local supports are being stretched to capacity as migrants who crossed into Canada via Roxham Road arrive in increasing numbers. In addition to federal funding, they're seeking clarity from Ottawa on what lies ahead.
"We need to know the plan," Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said in an interview. "Don't just tell us the plan, let's develop it together."
Roxham Road is an irregular border crossing on a country road stretching from New York state to Quebec, about 50 kilometres south of Montreal. In 2021, 4,246 migrants entered Canada via Roxham Road, with that number jumping to nearly 40,000 last year, the federal government has said.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada said the government began transferring asylum claimants to various cities in Ontario in June last year, after Quebec voiced concerns the migrants were placing pressure on publicly funded services and accommodation.
The department said 7,131 people have been transferred to Ontario communities so far -- 4,313 to Niagara Falls, 1,396 to Cornwall, 720 to Windsor and 702 to Ottawa.
"IRCC is now in the process of working with other provinces and municipalities to identify new destinations that have the capacity to accommodate asylum seekers," spokesman Remi Lariviere said, noting that Atlantic provinces have received a few dozen asylum seekers.
