Region of Peel keeps changing position on opening of welcome centre for asylum claimants after Ottawa handed over $22M 

The Region of Peel continues to provide confusing information about its work to open a desperately needed centre to receive and triage individuals arriving in Canada from conflict areas around the world.

On Wednesday, September 25, The Pointer received a fifth response from The Region in a little over a week, once again providing conflicting information and claims about the welcome centre for asylum claimants, which is supposed to be operational by November 1st.

Two weeks ago, despite receiving $22 million from Ottawa to cover the cost of opening and operating the reception centre and accompanying shelter space, regional staff told The Pointer the facility would not open and work on the reception centre “will only move forward” if the federal and provincial governments commit to “its full funding”. 

No details were provided to explain the surprise decision. The Pointer asked staff what funding was committed by Queen’s Park to prompt the demand for provincial support, and who made the decision that the reception centre would not move forward, a decision that should be made by council, especially after receiving $22 million from Ottawa following a grant application to launch the centre. 

The Region’s price tag for the centre and accompanying shelter is $23 million, including capital and operating costs for both features combined. In the absence of any explanation from staff for the impasse, and after staff said the centre would only move forward once the “full funding” for it is provided, The Pointer raised the possibility that the one-million-dollar discrepancy could be the sticking point. 

After seeking clarification, regional staff provided details previously not shared, that the reason work on the centre was not moving forward was due to a $135.5 million gap between what Ottawa has provided for the reception centre/shelter space and the broader funding needed from the federal and provincial governments to cover Peel’s recently approved comprehensive strategy to address the long-term needs of asylum claimants in Peel, including much more shelter capacity, beyond the space associated with the reception centre. 

This position contradicts the Region’s application for grant funding from IRCC to cover the costs of just the reception centre/shelter.

Late last week, after two articles were published within days, the Region changed its story.

On Friday, September 20th, a spokesperson for the Region claimed the reason for not moving forward with the reception centre was made clear in “many correspondences” with The Pointer. He added that, “the reception centre will not open without adequate federal and provincial governments (Sic) funding for time-limited housing subsidies. If the funding is not secured, the site will open as a 680-bed shelter instead of a Reception Centre that will serve up to 1300 asylum claimants per month.”

It is unclear if Peel Council made this decision and the other surprising moves communicated in staff responses to The Pointer. If not, staff have not explained why they are making these decisions on their own. The Pointer has asked who made the decisions. No response has been provided. 

Then, on Wednesday, September 25th, another spokesperson for the Region informed The Pointer the following statement was being sent as a “memo” to Peel Council members after it was approved by Peel’s CAO, Gary Kent: 

“We would like to provide you with additional information related to a story that was printed in The Pointer yesterday [September 18] regarding the GTHA Regional Reception Centre and its ability to assist asylum claimants (see link below). The story implies that the Region, despite receiving $22 million in federal funding, is resistant to opening the GTHA Reception Centre and is in dispute with the federal government [The Pointer has not reported that the Region is in ‘dispute’ with the federal government on the issue, but has stated there is an impasse over the funding.] This is not the case and mischaracterizes our partnership with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada on this file. The story makes the assumption that the centre will not open because the Region only received $22 million of the $23 million requested for capital and operating costs through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP). This is not accurate, the Region welcomes the capital and operating funding received and is actively undertaking renovations on the site to prepare it for a phased opening beginning by November 1st, 2024.”

What this phased opening will look like remains unclear, as the Region now seems to be suggesting the reception centre will open, without the key features described in the grant application for the $22 million already received from Ottawa.

The memo to council, forwarded to The Pointer Wednesday, states: 

“The volume of asylum claimants and their long lengths of stay in the system has pushed our emergency shelter system to nearly 400% capacity. The annual cost to provide a subsidy for up to 1300 asylum claimants per month is estimated at $84 million and would facilitate claimants’ settlement into independent housing in Peel and other municipalities across the GTHA. Without this component in place, we expect that the Reception Centre will serve as a 680-bed shelter as opposed to its intended function of effectively triaging asylum claimants and moving them into independent housing. This approach achieves better outcomes for claimants and is more cost effective compared to the high costs of housing claimants in hotels ($220/day) vs. the cost of a housing subsidy ($45/day).”

The $84 million is part of the additional $135.5 million the Region says it needs to fund its comprehensive asylum claimant strategy. Ottawa has already committed to provide almost all of the funding to house asylum claimants in Peel hotels, after years of neglect by regional councillors who failed to approve new emergency spaces for the local population and for those fleeing conflicts around the world. The federal government has given Peel almost $60 million to support asylum seekers.

Ottawa has made clear that separate funding for housing costs to support asylum claimants has to be requested individually by the Region, and that each grant application will be looked at case by case. But the Region seems to be lumping all its needs into one blanket demand, despite already requesting and receiving the $22 million for the specific reception centre project.

Minister Miller emphasized this in his letter to the Region announcing the $22 million: “Any future grants towards costs associated with providing temporary housing to asylum claimants in 2024 will be addressed in subsequent agreements,” he wrote. 

It is now unclear how the Region could launch the project without the features it detailed in its grant request to Ottawa, which were agreed to as part of the $22 million that has already been provided, with the understanding that the full project be launched November 1st.

On Wednesday, an IRCC spokesperson responded to The Pointer regarding the Region’s recent confusing claims that the project was not moving forward despite the terms of the $22 million grant provided by Ottawa, including a November 1st opening date.

“[I]mmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) received a revised proposal from Peel Region for a regional reception centre and dedicated shelter to receive, triage, temporarily house and offer important services to asylum claimants. IRCC has raised its initial $7M pledge and has provided Peel Region with a total upfront payment of $22 million under the IHAP, to be put toward the 2024 costs of establishing and launching the project.”

It is unclear if IRCC will allow the Region to launch the project without the critical settlement, triage and support services the reception centre was supposed to provide.

The position of the Region keeps shifting. 

On Tuesday, September 10th, a Peel spokesperson wrote to The Pointer that: “Without this funding [it was unclear if this referred to the $1 million] Peel will not proceed with the Reception Centre”; which was followed by the response on September 19th, after the first article was published last week, that the “Reception Centre will only move forward” when the federal and provincial governments “commit to its full funding”.

Now, regional staff are stating they are “actively undertaking renovations on the site to prepare it for a phased opening beginning by November 1st.”

A spokesperson added an updated response to The Pointer Wednesday, which also contradicts previous statements suggesting the reception centre opening was part of the ongoing back and forth with higher levels of government: 

“The component that remains under negotiation with the Federal and Provincial government is the need for a housing subsidy for asylum claimants to facilitate exits out of the shelter system. Without this critical support, asylum claimants are staying in the emergency shelter system as they simply can not afford housing.”

The need to accommodate asylum claimants in Peel has existed for years but rapidly escalated in 2023.  

As the numbers of new arrivals surged, within four months two asylum seekers died waiting for emergency shelter space in Mississauga, one in November of last year, the second in February. It laid bare the chronic shortage of emergency shelters across Peel that advocates have highlighted for a decade, with little action taken by regional leaders. 

Two asylum claimants have died outside the Dundas Street Shelter in Mississauga since November of last year.

(ST/Google)

As the situation worsened, the Region of Peel scrambled to respond and in March of this year released a council-endorsed plan that centred on a facility to welcome individuals with a suite of services to ensure their safe, coordinated arrival and settlement in the country.

“If operationalized, the Regional Reception Centre will serve the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), and provide a comprehensive array of services on-site, such as needs assessments, service navigation, orientation sessions, legal aid, IRCC [Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada] information, Ontario Works information, language and settlement services, and health services where applicable,” the Region announced in a press release March 21st. “This person-centered approach will best equip asylum claimants with the appropriate resources to successfully integrate into our communities.”

The Region went on to detail that, “If the provincial and federal governments do not provide the adequate funding for the Regional Reception Centre, Peel will proceed with the asylum claimant-focused shelter facilities.”

The federal ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada invited Peel to submit an application for the reception centre under the appropriate grant program. Near the end of April, the Region submitted its grant application to the federal government: 

“The Regional Reception Centre approach being presented by Peel Region was informed by sector expertise including the City of Toronto, Immigration Refugees Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Canadian Red Cross First Contact Program, Provincial staff from Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, Ministry of Health, select Service Managers and District Social Services Administration Boards, and a variety of settlement- and health - orientated service agencies including members from Community Health Centres, and Ontario Health Teams.”

A lack of investment by regional councillors in the emergency shelter system has led to these critical services operating well over capacity for several years now.

(Region of Peel)

As part of its application for $23 million to launch the reception centre the Region described it as a facility that will use “expertise” for “a sustainable, coordinated, innovative, and cost-effective model to better support asylum claimants and replace the current approach.”

In July, IRCC Minister Marc Miller sent the following letter to the Region: “I am writing with respect to the Region of Peel’s request for financial assistance from the Government of Canada to support the creation of a regional reception centre in Mississauga…I am pleased to report that the federal government is prepared to offer the Region of Peel a payment of $22 million under the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) toward those costs and with the intention that the reception centre be opened by November 1, 2024.”

IRCC confirmed to The Pointer last week that an upfront payment of $22 million was provided to the Region, but had earlier indicated that no financial statements had been submitted by the Region to show that work was underway to get the reception centre opened by November 1st.

Then, the Region, surprisingly stated the reception centre project would only move forward once more funding was provided, despite receiving the $22 million from Ottawa under the grant request that was specifically for the reception centre.

Now, the Region says the project is moving forward, but it will not be the reception centre the grant application hinged on, unless higher levels of government provide tens of millions of dollars more for a wide range of supports. Meanwhile, Peel’s elected officials have not weighed in on these critical decisions, which they are supposed to be making. 

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