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Hamilton asks feds for $9M reimbursement, funding for refugee shelter

The City of Hamilton is calling on the federal government to provide over $9 million in immediate funding to foot the bill for emergency housing support for refugees and asylum seekers.
Mayor Andrea Horwath sent a letter Tuesday to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser saying Hamilton’s emergency response systems are at the “risk of collapse” due to an alarming rise in refugees and asylum seekers within shelters across the city.
“Although Hamilton is not designated as a host community for refugees, our emergency shelter system has housed 509 individuals with refugee and asylum seeker status since January 2023, and 202 in the last week alone,” Horwath wrote in the letter.
“As of this letter, 20 per cent of Hamilton’s emergency shelter beds are occupied by refugees and asylum seekers.”
READ MORE: Niagara region demands help with influx of asylum seekers
Horwath also says the city’s four shelter providers for women and children fleeing violence are seeing a high volume of refugees, who at times have accounted for approximately 60 per cent of their total space.
At the same time, the number of people living in encampments throughout Hamilton has increased to 165 so far this year compared to 35 in June 2022, according to the letter.
While the City of Hamilton is currently spending $6 million annually in hotel overflow costs to keep families housed, Horwath says the municipality cannot cover the costs on its own.
“The financial impact of these policies cannot be downloaded to local governments, and these individuals and families cannot continue to suffer while federal and provincial governments fight to avoid responsibility for their care,” Horwath wrote.
To respond, Hamilton has requested that the Canadian government develop a program to provide committed, up-front funding to municipalities for the housing and support of refugees and asylum seekers; quicker confirmation of total reimbursement; and a federally-funded reception centre for refugee claimants at Toronto Pearson Airport, among other demands.
In a statement to CHCH News, a spokesperson for Fraser says in part, “The federal government has been providing assistance and will continue to do so, as exemplified by last week’s announcement of additional support through IHAP.”
“We need full engagement from all levels of government as we work to ensure asylum seekers have a roof over their heads.”
READ MORE: Ottawa gives $212M funding boost for housing asylum seekers