Refugee claimants transferred to Windsor amid Toronto shelter crisis

Officials in Windsor say the city is more than capable of accommodating approximately 50 refugee claimants who have been transferred to the city from Toronto.

CTV News confirmed Friday nearly 100 refugees would be boarding a bus in Toronto, headed for Windsor and Niagara Falls.

According to the federal government, there was a 50 per cent split between the numbers of refugees dropped off in both regions.

Windsor's latest arrivals are staying at two hotels dedicated to asylum claimants and funded by the federal government, according to the city's manager of social policy and planning.

"This is the first formal transfer of asylum claimants to Windsor, since the spring," said Stephen Lynn.

However, he added, the conditions for many refugees in Toronto are too dire to ignore.

"There's a significant crisis in the shelter system in the GTA," said Lynn. "A significant amount of asylum claimants have been sleeping outside...and as the weather is getting colder, the federal government is working with the City of Toronto and other partners up there to ensure these same claimants have a place to sleep."

An average of nearly 300 people are turned away from Toronto's shelter system every night, according to a spokesperson for the city.

This past winter, the number of refugee claimants occupying Windsor hotels was 1,408.

According to Lynn, that number has dropped to 628.

"So there's not going to be a large impact to City of Windsor resources. This is the federal government who is taking responsibility for the asylum claimants and the new transfers who are housed here," said Lynn.

Among the organizations at the centre of resettlement and adjustment efforts for asylum claimants to Windsor is the local Multicultural Council (MCC).

"They come in and we find temporary housing for them until we can find permanent housing for them. We get the kids enrolled in school. We get the parents settled," said MCC Executive Director Fred Francis, who also pointed to referrals for education, employment and medical services.

"We do everything possible to make sure the integration process into Canada is as seamless and as smooth as possible and we have a number of other partners who help us with that."

Francis said the MCC's "resettlement and integration team" works with refugees on a monthly basis to ensure they are able to contribute to their full potential.

"Based on the last census data, 60 per cent are coming in as economic immigrants. These are the people that are building or helping to build our economy," said Francis. "Around 20 per cent are family class...and 10 per cent is essentially government-assisted humanitarian grounds."

But while officials said capacity across Windsor is more than capable of accommodating refugees, Matthew House — a donor-funded agency which provides temporary shelter and settlement support to refugee claimants — is at 100 per cent occupancy.

"Between our two facilities, we have 122 men, women and children in shelter with us," said Matthew House Executive Director Mike Morency. "We're also providing supplements supports for just under 1,000 others who have come to our community, seeking safety and a fresh start. So it's certainly a stretch."

For Morency, continued collaboration between community partners is imperative to ensure all new arrivals not only have somewhere to stay but can also rebuild their lives.

"We do have some struggles when it comes to affordable housing and also when it comes to having enough lawyers for these refugee claimants to simply tell their story," said Morency, who added refugees who do not have legal representation are at higher risk of being removed from Canada.

"But these are people who want to really quickly rebuild their lives if they get the help they need."

According to the federal government, refugee transfers to Ontario began on June 30, 2022. Since then, 1,418 have been transferred to Windsor.