Agencies await refugees
A Haitian family that arrived in Niagara last week could be the first of many more expected in the region, as local immigration agencies pitch in to help resolve the crisis building on Quebec’s border with the U.S.
“We always have our arms open for anybody,” said Janet Madume, executive director at Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre.
She said more than 6,800 asylum seekers, most from Haiti, have walked across the border into Quebec during the past two months, overwhelming immigration services in the area.
Statistics provided by the Canada Border Services Agency show the RCMP intercepted 2,996 asylum-seekers in Quebec in July — nearly four times more than the number of people who crossed a month earlier.
Thousands more have been reported crossing into Quebec in the first few weeks of August.
Madume said she was told that last Friday alone, about 1,200 people crossed the border into Quebec.
The influx of asylum seekers began after the U.S. government announced plans that it may revoke protected status for Haitians, set up in the wake of a 2010 earthquake.
“It’s getting crazier and crazier by the day,” she said. “Processing 1,200 people, how much more can these guys do?”
Although the situation has yet to be officially deemed a crisis, Madume said “for me, that’s a crisis.”
“They need help. They need to bring in resources, definitely.”
Although most of the asylum seekers have been staying in temporary lodgings in Quebec and Cornwall, many have been transported to Hamilton for accommodations.
“The shelters are over-flooded there,” Madume said.
“They’re putting them in hotels and inns and stuff like that, and they’re running out of resources. That’s the other issue. I think they’re a little overwhelmed right now.”
Madume said her Welland agency received several phone calls last week, asking for assistance in finding accommodations for the immigrants.
She said the Haitian family that arrived last week travelled by bus from Quebec, and arrived in Hamilton and later Welland without a break.
“They hadn’t slept for two days,” she said.
At least two more families were expected to arrive by the end of this week, and many more could follow in the weeks to come, depending on the availability of shelters in the area.
Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre executive director Jeff Burch said in addition to the influx of asylum seekers walking into Quebec, the number of refugee claimants crossing into Canada legally has increased, too.
“There has been an increase across Canada, including Niagara,” he said.
Waterways that line the U.S. border in Ontario help prevent the problems occurring in Quebec from happening here. But Fort Erie Multicultural Centre executive director Martha Mason said her agency has seen a significant increase in the number of people crossing the Peace Bridge, hoping to find a safe haven in Canada.
She said the Fort Erie centre has assisted about 60 per cent more asylum seekers so far this year, compared to 2016 when about 3,000 crossed the border.
Mason doesn’t expect the numbers to dwindle anytime soon.
“I think we’re going to see it for a while yet,” Mason said. “I think there’s a fear factor that people are experiencing, and it’s going to be this way for a while.”
While Madume said the majority of asylum seekers are Haitians, other immigrant groups in the U.S. are choosing to cross the border into Canada, too.
“Think about the Turkish people or anyone who is being affected in the states,” she said.
Niagara’s large francophone population, as well as French-language services that are available locally, make the region well suited to assist the Haitian immigrants, most of whom are French speaking.
“We have so many French translators and there’s already a Haitian community here. We have people who can help us.”
Despite the influx, Burch said local immigration agencies are up to the task.
“We’re prepared. We’re very much able to deal with any influx into Niagara.”
Burch said Canada could ultimately benefit by its acceptance of immigrants.
“You may see Canada and other European countries benefit from a lot of the immigration because a lot of the most skilled immigrants are not going to the U.S. They’re choosing to come to Canada and France and countries like that,” he said.
“It’s good for our economy, and helping people seeking asylum is also the right thing to do.”