Shelter for ‘everyone’: Richmond calls on Ottawa to fund designated spaces for asylum seekers in B.C.
Vancouver Sun, Posted: August 23, 2024 | Sarah Grochowski
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The City of Richmond says a recent rise in refugee claimants is straining local emergency shelters, which is prompting a charge for the federal government to provide funding for new temporary housing and services for asylum seekers when they arrive in B.C.
The city’s council this year voted in favour of a motion from Coun. Carol Day recommending a resolution be submitted to the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention this fall.
The resolution calls on the UBCM to lobby the federal government to fund temporary shelter and services for asylum seekers to provide relief to existing emergency shelters and “allow the local homeless population to access shelters in their own communities.”
In March, Richmond reported that a third of the 632 people who accessed a 30-bed emergency shelter at 12040 Horseshoe Way last year were refugee claimants.
“We need our shelters to be left for homeless people who need the support and supervision those overnight beds provide (for) their acute needs, including drug addiction and mental or physical health issues,” Day said Friday.
The councillor says a lack of short-term housing for asylum seekers is a problem that costs B.C. municipalities to address, but is a federal responsibility.
“They are coming from the airport, they come from the land-border crossing and they often come together in groups,” Day said.
Last year, the number of asylum claimants processed by the federal government jumped to 7,685 from 3,890 in 2022 in B.C., according to the government’s website.
Like Richmond, Toronto asked Ottawa for help after the number of asylum seekers at the city’s shelters increased by more than 500 per cent in roughly a year and a half. It went from 530 individuals nightly in September 2021 to 3,000 in May of 2023.
Earlier this year, the federal government announced an additional $362 million for cities and provinces struggling to cope with the rising number of asylum seekers through the Interim Housing Assistance Program, a cost-sharing measure which provides reimbursement for expenses related to interim housing for asylum claimants.
But in its resolution, Richmond says it hasn’t been able to access any of the help: “Local governments in B.C. are not eligible to directly receive this federal funding as the province runs the shelter system in British Columbia.”
Professionals working to support refugee claimants in B.C.’s non-profit sector agree that asylum seekers in the province would benefit from designated housing.
“Addressing asylum seekers’ needs with specific supports, including help with a language barrier or filing their claim of refugee status, would free up shelter spots quicker for those who are homeless and have other needs,” said Sabrina Dumitra, acting CEO for the Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of B.C.
“Richmond has been the most outspoken municipality on this, and being located so close to Vancouver’s international airport — it’s totally understandable,” Dumitra added.
Once in the country, asylum seekers are permitted to stay until the federal government decides whether they qualify as refugees. Meantime, they are eligible for social assistance, health services and emergency housing. To alleviate the pressure on local shelters, the federal government has funded about 4,000 rooms across Canada that provide short-term stays for roughly 7,300 asylum seekers.
“It’s not about refugee claimants taking away those shelter spaces from Canadian-born residents — it’s that there needs to be shelter and supports for everyone and different folks have different needs,” Dumitra said.
