Ford’s Ontario cannot forgo its duty to migrants
Constitution gives provincial government legal obligations, Jamie Liew writes.
There’s been a lot of posturing between the Ontario provincial Conservative government and the federal Liberal government over housing, refugee claimants and border-crossers. Let’s take a closer look at the situation and see if we can look past the rhetoric.
Our Constitution divides governing powers between the provinces and the federal government. Section 92 of the Constitution gives the provinces the power over matters of local or private nature in the province. This includes housing. Section 95 of the Constitution, however, provides that the federal government and the provinces have concurrent powers over immigration, but while the province may make laws in relation to immigration to the province, it cannot conflict with a federal law. Thus, the federal government trumps when it comes to immigration law.
Social Services Minister Lisa MacLeod (MPP for Nepean) and the Ontario government cannot ignore that housing and dealing with immigrants coming to Ontario is in their wheelhouse. They may point to the increasing numbers of persons crossing the border and blame their federal counterparts. Let’s get some perspective.
First, housing is the provinces’ constitutional concern. While there is an increase in need for housing by virtue of migrants coming to Ontario, the existence of migrants coming to Ontario is not new. The arrival of migrants does not change the need for housing or the province’s responsibility. The province is choosing to pit migrants and refugees against other Ontarians and is signalling a hands-off approach to dealing with a problem within its jurisdiction. Other marginalized groups should beware.
Second, the ease in using problematic language like “illegal” or “crisis” or “queue jumpers” by the Ontario government not only deflects public attention away from the housing crisis in general, but completely ignores Canada’s international obligations to not only assess refugee claims but to also not punish people who cross a border irregularly to make a claim. Indeed, federal legislation echoes an exemption from prosecuting refugees and claimants if they cross a border irregularly.
The Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association reported that as of 2016, more than 171,360 Ontario households were waiting for a home they cannot afford. Waiting lists grew by more than 45,000 households in 12 years and people are waiting on average almost four years to get an offer. For some, it is longer.
As of May 2018, 96 per cent of persons crossing the CanadaU.S. border irregularly crossed into Quebec. According to the federal government, the RCMP has intercepted no irregular crossers (those that don’t go to an official border crossing) at the Ontario border but 10,261 at the Quebec border between January and June 2018. As for regular crossers (those who go to an official border crossing), Ontario has received 1,620 refugee claims between January and June 2018, whereas Quebec received 7,380 for the same period. As for claims made inside Canada, the Immigration Department received 5,750 claims in Ontario and 4,470 in Quebec from January to June 2018.
There has undoubtedly been an increase in numbers of persons making refugee claims in Canada but the PC government, in its first days running the province, misled the people of Ontario, saying that it is not its responsibility to deal with refugees and migrants crossing our borders.
It is true that the Constitution asks for the two levels of government to co-operate when it comes to immigration. There have been long-standing agreements and co-operation in the past. Using political and problematic rhetoric to bully the federal government to take on a bigger responsibility is not only unprofessional, but unhelpful.
Undoubtedly, the federal government has not helped the situation by failing to suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement and review it, subjecting persons to greater risk by forcing them to avoid the official entry points at the border in order to claim refugee protection. Despite this, we don’t see the Quebec or Manitoba governments misleading their residents by vilifying those fleeing precarious situations. The federal government is making efforts to share the burden by putting $11 million on the table. If that is not enough, the Ontario government should enter into a dialogue — but do so with compassion, the respect for the rule of law and common sense. Ensuring a secure border does not mean ignoring the plight of others and forgetting your legal obligations.
The arrival of migrants does not change the need for housing or the province’s responsibility.