Easy to promise, but difficult to accomplish; taking care of asylum seekers in Ontario

BY STEVEN KASZAB

Our local and provincial governments, along with the many charitable organizations in the country have been inundated with the challenge to care for many thousands of asylum seekers, be they political or economic.

The federal government has responded to the public’s demands to assist the many homeless, destitute and threatened peoples of many foreign lands such as Afghanistan, Syria, Congo, Nigeria and from every corner of this globe. Promises are made reality, as these asylum seekers arrive on our land, welcomed and then left to care for themselves, or sent to various communities throughout our nation, cities not really prepared for the: financial, mental and historical demands they will face.

African migrants sleeping on Toronto’s streets, Migrants sent to hotels throughout Ontario and waiting to get the assistance and approvals needed to become members of our society. A babysitting mentality with no real wish to assist and release these people quickly and effectively.

We must call upon all levels of governments to move swiftly (is this possible?) to transform our immigration system, make it more cost effective, less costly, better communicators to all partners and more efficient in its operations. Partners is the right term, I think. Unloading migrants and asylum seekers onto the sidewalks of our cities, like they do in America these days, is bad management, ineffective, damaging to both the hosts and guests alike and carries on a horrid tradition we have had in North America for many decades.

Tradition you may ask. Well, there is the practice used by many municipalities in Canada and cities in America where migrants, asylum seekers and illegal migrants alike are gathered together, given some money and put onto a bus, then sent to a larger urban center far from where they were gathered. The cost for caring for these people simply passes onto their new city hosts. Costs like medical care, housing, shelter maintenance and staffing fall onto the larger city they arrive at. A cold, selfish approach to a problem that will not go away.

Demands, perhaps a cry for funds from good hearted people who need to face those in need must go out to our public and corporate elites, those who determine who can be assisted, how, where and when. Promises of charity and good-hearted humanity must become principled well managed action. Cost effective, direct and life giving.

A call upon the Federal government to enact measures that would assist those carrying out the management of these people follows:

• Calling for expedited work authorization for asylum seekers, so they can enter the workforce and ultimately leave the shelter system. Let these people work and build their lives.
• Identify federally owned land and sites to use as temporary shelters (i.e. former military bases) as asylum seekers wait for legal status. Unused property owned by the Federal government can be renovated and used quickly. If it could house many hundreds of our soldiers, it can also assist migrants and asylum seekers too.
• Reimbursement for the costs compounded upon municipal, provincial governments and charitable agencies in the effort to care for these asylum seekers. These organizations cannot deplete their budgets and reroute funds that are already allocated elsewhere to this cause. The Federal government must short their financial promises to the world and take care of its own backyard.
• Request substantial financial investments for: housing, schooling, healthcare, case management, and shelter possibilities.

These asylum seekers are literally fleeing for their lives, whether it be from: political strife, gang violence, extreme poverty, or persecution. They are coming to this land with the same goals as our descendants, our grandparents, and parents did to build a better life for their family and themselves.

With great power comes great responsibility. The Federal government must stand up before the public, take on full responsibility for those they allow to enter our land, and continue to establish a firm, well managed partnership between all involved, local, provincial and national alike.