City of London missed application deadline for federal reimbursement of shelter costs for asylum claimants
Efforts at city hall to get reimbursed by the federal government for costs incurred by asylum seekers might be too late.
On Wednesday, city staff reported 11.9 per cent of emergency shelter beds have been occupied by asylum claimants, costing the emergency homeless shelter system more than $1 million over the 11-month period, dating back to May.
However, MP Peter Fragiskatos said the city missed the deadline to apply for reimbursement of eligible costs from the federal government’s Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP).
"The unfortunate thing here is that the window for applying for that funding has come to a close,” Fragiskatos told CTV News. “What‘s very unfortunate is that city administration and colleagues on [council] had an opportunity to raise this issue during the early stages, I'm talking months ago, when this was first brought up in the fall."
He added that other municipalities and service providers already applied to be reimbursed.
In an emailed statement to CTV News on Wednesday, civic administration explained that their staff already have council direction to apply for IHAP funds, and that direction came from council in November when the impacts of asylum claimants on the local shelter system was first discussed.
On November 28, council passed a motion directing staff to:
- Report back to Council on the impacts of asylum claimants on our local shelter system. Based on the findings from the staff report, that staff apply, if appropriate, for Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) funding, if necessary, to address the impacts on local shelters.
Between May 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, there were 123 individual asylum claimants who spent a total of 11,073 nights in emergency shelter beds— 11.9 per cent of the city’s capacity.
At an average cost of $96.66/night, shelter costs have exceeded $1 million.
An additional $31,500 has been spent on hotel/motel rooms for families waiting for space to become available at Rotholme family shelter.
The actual number of asylum seekers in shelters is likely even higher.
The report acknowledges limitations in the data because some people may not disclose their personal information and others may be accessing shelters that do not utilize the database.
Fragiskatos said while some other communities face a much higher percentage of asylum claimants in their emergency shelters, the 12 per cent in London is “not insignificant.”
He added that despite the communications gap, he’ll try to secure federal funds to reimburse eligible costs.
"We need to see the numbers, we needed to see those a long time ago, but I'm glad to work with the City of London,” Fragiskatos said. “Anyone in the city who wants to share that information, I can communicate that with Immigration [officials] in Ottawa and we can move from there."
Council’s Community and Protective Services Committee will consider the report detailing asylum claimants in emergency shelters during a meeting April 29.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.