'We're in the red here': Montreal shelters for asylum seekers nearing capacity
CBC
Shelters for asylum seekers in the Montreal area are running out of space
Since the reopening of Quebec's Roxham Road last November, the unauthorized border point has seen the highest number of irregular border crossers in nearly five years — amounting to well over 2,000 per month.
Peggy Larose, reception and integration coordinator for newcomers at La Maison d'Haïti in the Saint-Michel district, says the non-profit resource centre has seen an upsurge in asylum seekers.
"[It] has increased our workload with already limited resources," she said.
The Hotel Place Dupuis in downtown Montreal, which was recently converted into a homeless shelter, is now also welcoming asylum seekers. More than 500 are currently housed there, but its site is close to reaching maximum capacity.
"We're in the red here. We are in the red," said Francine Dupuis, CEO of the CIUSSS du Center-Ouest-de-l'île-de-Montréal, which oversees PRAIDA, the provincial government organization that helps claimants in their first few months.
PRAIDA indicates that there are more than 1,000 people occupying the beds offered by the organization in Montreal, including those at Place Dupuis, out of a possible 1,300. The Canadian federal government, for its part, rents nearly 900 hotel rooms occupied by asylum seekers in the Montreal region.
Another challenge in Quebec is the time it takes to process immigration papers.
"Right now, those trying to obtain a work permit are facing delays of six months, eight months," said Stephan Reichhold, director of la Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes.
"This is neither to the advantage of asylum seekers nor to the advantage of Quebec, because we are obliged to give them social assistance."
In this context, the number of Ukrainian refugees promised by Canada could require a sustained mobilization of community stakeholders.
The Quebec government announced this week a program to help people with family in Ukraine sponsor their relatives to bring them to Canada. The government is also committing to speeding up the processing of temporary immigration applications.
In Montreal, the official opposition has asked Mayor Valérie Plante's administration to resurrect the co-ordination committee set up in 2015 to welcome Syrian refugees and establish an online form to identify offers of help from Montrealers.
A Quebec City lawyer has already gathered nearly 200 names of Canadians willing to host refugees in their homes.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.
Acute Care Alberta has extended its contract for another year with a private surgical facility at the centre of probes into health procurement and contracting.
As food bank use continues to climb across the province, front-line workers in Thunder Bay, Ont., are working to improve both food security and education.
More ads could soon be coming to Toronto’s subway system.