Ottawa must do more to help Toronto welcome refugees

Every second person who calls Toronto home was born outside of Canada. That’s because this city has long welcomed the world, and it continues to do so amid a global migrant crisis.

The latest evidence of that is the $65 million the city has budgeted since 2017 to provide food and shelter for refugee claimants.

But Toronto can’t be expected to carry the whole burden. This is a national issue, and Mayor John Tory is right to reach out to Ottawa for more help in handling a sudden upsurge in refugee claimants that is putting a big strain on the city’s shelter system.

“We are committed to providing shelter and support to all those who need it,” he said on Thursday. “But we can no longer do it alone.”

It’s high time the federal government lived up to its responsibilities in this area.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could not have been more clear that Canada would not follow the United States into a misguided retreat on immigration and refugees. “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada,” Trudeau famously tweeted in January of last year.

Unfortunately, he seems to think his job ended with laying out that big welcome mat.

The federal government hasn’t produced a comprehensive plan, backed with funding, to make that sentiment a reality and ensure those who arrive here have what they need to succeed. Instead, they’re lurching from crisis to crisis.

When Quebec asked Ottawa for a plan on how to manage the dramatic rise of refugee claimants crossing its border from New York state, the government came up with a plan that involves quickly moving many of the claimants to Ontario.

They’re now arriving in Toronto. What has not arrived is any extra federal money to provide for them. That led to Tory pointing out the next crisis in Toronto’s shelters.

While the federal government is responsible for refugees it's up to the provinces and cities to cover most of the costs of providing shelter, social assistance and other services while claimants wait for their hearings.

In 2016, 459 nightly shelter beds in Toronto were occupied by refugee claimants. Last month, it was 2,351 — accounting for 38 per cent of the city’s entire capacity in an already overburdened system.

With President Donald Trump continually fomenting immigration fears south of the border, we haven’t seen the end of migrants arriving in this country. Ottawa can’t continue to take Toronto’s reputation as a welcoming city for granted.

Refugee claims can take years to sort through. In the meantime, claimants need a place to live and services to help them integrate and find work.

That takes money, and Toronto can’t foot the whole bill for what amounts to a national — even global — crisis.

Such an approach risks breeding resentment and a backlash against newcomers — the last thing Toronto or Canada needs.

“We want refugees to be as big a success story for themselves and for Canada,” Tory said on Thursday. “But that goal is simply not achievable if the other governments, especially the federal government, don’t step up and help us in an area of their jurisdiction.”

Beyond that, the Trudeau government must ensure that this influx of refugees doesn’t bring Canada’s entire system into disrepute. Quebec expects to see as many as 400 claimants crossing the border each day this summer.

Ottawa should come to grips with this situation before it becomes a full-blown political crisis. Right now, that means helping Toronto cope with the influx of newcomers.

(This editorial was published April 26 in the Toronto Star and distributed by The Canadian Press.)

“In 2016, 459 nightly shelter beds in Toronto were occupied by refugee claimants. Last month, it was 2,351.”