Cost of Manitoba asylum seekers hits $17 million

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This article was published 22/02/2019 (2487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Border-crossing asylum seekers have cost the province $17 million, the Free Press has learned.

That’s more than double the cost Premier Brian Pallister outlined last April, accounting for the time that’s passed as pressure mounts on provincial services.

The $17 million figure spans all claimants who entered Manitoba from the United States, crossing on foot, in 2017 and 2018. That trend crested in March 2017, with just one claimant last month.

Pallister’s office divulged its estimate after this newspaper asked about costs for housing, welfare, education, Legal Aid, health, and child welfare.

“We expect Ottawa to fully compensate affected provinces for the extraordinary costs associated with the influx of asylum seekers,” reads a statement from the premier’s office.

“This situation is now seriously overdue.”

Pallister had estimated provincial costs at $7.9 million as of last April. Last June, the Trudeau government gave Manitoba $3 million for housing costs as part of a $50-million national announcement, saying that the province would receive more funding later.

Nearly nine months have passed since then, during which Pallister’s office has sent multiple requests to Ottawa, which cite the $17 million. Last July, compensation for asylum-seeker costs was among four priorities Pallister and his fellow premiers flagged for Ottawa.

A month ago, in its regular departmental filings, Ottawa earmarked $100 million “to support the increased volume of asylum seekers.”

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On Wednesday, Border Security Minister Bill Blair was coy about when that cash would actually flow, and whom would get it.

“Historically, providing support to people who come to this country seeking refuge and seeking asylum has been a shared responsibility between municipalities, provinces and the federal government," he told the House immigration committee.

“We know that some have experienced an extraordinary cost.”

Manitoba could be seeking a piece of a diminishing pie. Blair acknowledged that cities like Toronto and Montreal have asked for cash to deal with pressures on their systems, and confirmed he’s in talks with British Columbia, which did not receive any cash in last June’s allocation.

At the Wednesday hearings, Tory immigration critic Michelle Rempel tore into the government’s handling of “illegal border crossers.” While asylum seekers can’t make a claim at regular border crossings, they can enter Canada outside of formal crossing posts without being prosecuted if they immediately report to authorities and file an asylum claim.

“You’re just asking Canadians to pay for your mistake,” Rempel told Blair, noting that most crossers arrive from upstate New York, as opposed to a dangerous country and are often housed in hotels.

“They’re families, Michelle,” Blair responded. “They’re people out on the street. We’re not going to leave them out on the street or in the snow.”

On Tuesday, the Free Press reported that Legal Aid Manitoba is still grappling with a tripling in refugee claims, even if the crossings have essentially stopped.

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Manitoba may be able to reimburse some of those costs through regular channels. Meanwhile, federal health and social transfers are issued on a per-capita basis and would cover most added hospital and school costs.

In December, the Liberals uncorked an estimated $380,000 for Quebec households near the main entry point for asylum seekers. Blair said the surprise Christmas present — as much as $25,000 per household — was for "inconvenience" caused by the numerous security personnel accommodating thousands of claimants for two years.

Blair will not issue a similar payment to residents of Emerson, as the Manitoba crossing had “not been as impactful on individuals, and their lives, because of the more remote location."

In 2017, the Canada Border Services Agency recorded a 493 per cent increase in asylum claims over the previous year, compared to a 119 per cent increase in Quebec.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca