The federal government is pledging an additional $362 million to help provinces and cities temporarily house asylum seekers.
Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced the top-up to the federal interim housing assistance program on Parliament Hill earlier today.
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He says Ottawa sees an immediate need to provide support that reflects the impact of asylum claims across the country, but that longer-term changes are needed.
As of last week, about 7,300 asylum claimants in need of housing were staying in 4,000 hotel rooms in six provinces.null
Miller says the city of Toronto will get a “significant amount” of the new money but refused to say how much, adding that an announcement is forthcoming.
He says the program is far from perfect and it’s a short-term response to record numbers of asylum claims.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has said in the past that the city needs $250 million just to take care of refugee claimants, adding that if the money was not forthcoming an additional six per cent “federal impacts levy” tax would be added to the proposed 10.5 per cent property tax hike for 2024.
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