A City of Windsor committee is expected to decide on how to best help hundreds of asylum claimants who have worked their way to the area.
The City's Community Services Standing Committee will meet Wednesday to decide whether to urge the entire City Council to contact the federal government and ask it to either slow the arrival of asylum claimants to Windsor or provide additional funding to support efforts to help them.
A report was submitted to the committee by Stephen Lynn, the City's Manager of Social Policy and Planning.
"The large number of asylum claimants arriving in Windsor over a relatively short period raises concerns about the City of Windsor and our partners’ capacity to absorb the impact of this downward pressure without additional resources from the federal and provincial governments," read the report. "In order to mitigate any further impacts, administration is seeking Council’s support to submit a letter to IRCC [Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada], and state that the City does not have the capacity or resources to support additional asylum claimants beyond current estimates based on the number of secured temporary accommodations."
IRCC confirmed to WindsorNewsToday.ca that 618 asylum claimants had made their way to Windsor-Essex and were staying in hotels.
A total of 3,300 asylum claimants entered Canada from the U.S. between accepted points of entry since June 30, 2022. The vast majority of these asylum claimants arrived in Canada at Roxham Road, an uncontrolled crossing just west of Champlain, New York, placing a strain on accommodations and other resources in Quebec. This led to the federal government’s decision to transfer asylum seekers elsewhere.
The report also cited an increase in Ontario Works applications. Under the law, asylum claimants are permitted to apply for benefits while waiting for their hearings before the Immigration Refugee Board of Canada. As of February 15, 250 applications have been granted.
Lynn's report also stated that the additional claimants may affect the region's affordable housing stock.
"There is a high probability that our local housing market will feel additional pressures given the current rental vacancy rate of 1.8 per cent, with an average two-bedroom rent of nearly $1,200 per month [as per CMHC's recent report]," read the report. "Furthermore, there is a low to medium risk that the local emergency shelter system could experience a surge in usage should the temporary accommodations end, or a failed tenancy occurs after seeking longer-term housing."
The report also pointed out that there is no impact on the City's emergency shelters now, but there may be in the future if claimants leave the hotels for alternate accommodations.
WindsorNewsToday.ca reached out to Lynn Tuesday for comment but he was unavailable.