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 News from Around the Americas | October 2007 
Ottawa Open to Talks to Ease Migrant Crisis
 Don Lajoie & Doug Schmidt - Windsor Star
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| | Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper listens to a question during a news conference in Ottawa October 3, 2007. (Reuters/Chris Wattie) |
The federal government is "taking seriously" the impact on Windsor of the recent influx of Mexican and Haitian refugee claimants and is open to discussions with Mayor Eddie Francis, cabinet ministers Diane Finley and Stockwell Day say in a joint letter to The Star.
"The Canadian Border Services Agency is looking at the full range of options to address the situation on an immediate basis," the ministers wrote. The Star was unable to reach any CBSA officials on Friday to seek elaboration on what those options might be.
The letter said the "vast majority" of Mexican refugee claimants processed so far this year have had their claims rejected, but The Star, citing Immigration and Refugee Board sources, has reported it was taking an average of 14 months to process a claim, and that was before the recent border rush.
Francis has vowed to continue pushing the province to pay the full cost of hosting the refugees who are swamping the city's social services system, noting that 80 per cent of them are claiming they want to remain in Windsor. The total number seeking Windsor assistance hit 300 individuals - 62 families and 59 individuals - on Friday.
Noting that social services staff have been working into the evening hours to process the new arrivals plus their regular clientele and are still being forced to turn people away, the mayor said the crisis shows no signs of abating soon.
He said he welcomed an announcement from the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services this week that the province would provide a one-time grant to cover the city's 20 per cent share of the costs of caring for refugee claimants.
But Francis added he would push to ensure the senior government pays the entire cost, no matter what the bill eventually amounts to.
Finley, the minister of citizenship and immigration, and Day, the minister of public safety, said the $7 billion Ottawa provides Ontario in Canada Social Transfer payments should adequately cover all the refugee costs Windsor is now incurring.
"We have also asked them (Ontario) to ensure that the appropriate funds are allocated for the city of Windsor," they wrote.
Without elaborating, the ministers said their government is "actively pursuing ways to prevent unscrupulous consultants from providing misleading information," including false promises of a non-existent "special program" for refugee claimants.
Francis noted the price of caring for the Mexican and Haitian refugee claimants who have flooded into the Windsor area over the past month now exceeds $400,000 and continues to rise.
Francis said the social services reception area processed 494 clients on Monday - double the usual number - and the work was further hobbled by the language barrier, with many of the refugees speaking little English and staff unable to speak Haitian Creole, French or Spanish.
"It's proving a challenge," said Francis. "The government wants to give us a grant, (so) we'll make sure we provide them with a plan that will cover all our costs and whatever else may come."
He added that, while 60 per cent of refugee applicants were of Mexican origin at the beginning of the influx a month ago, the majority of the most recent arrivals have been Haitians from Florida.
Immigration consultants in South Florida have been blamed for the recent influx after the illegal immigrants were informed Canada would give them asylum. There had been rumours of an immigration crackdown in Florida. |
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