Residents rally to support city’s planned reception centres for newcomers while others protest

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There were two rallies in Ottawa on Sunday, one in favour of the city’s proposed newcomer reception centres for refugees and asylum seekers, and another one against.

Chelby Daigle was at both.

Daigle, a Black Muslim woman, said she felt it was important to speak to Nepean residents who were rallying early Sunday afternoon against a reception centre the city plans to put near the Nepean Sportsplex. Daigle even caught a ride to the rally with MPP Lisa MacLeod, who has loudly opposed the Sportplex site.

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“We need to bridge this gap,” explained Daigle, who defended the city’s plan at the Sportspex rally. But she agreed with complaints the city’s rollout wasn’t transparent enough.

“My fear is that the mistakes the city’s made is going to affect asylum seekers,” she said. “That terrifies me. And from what we’ve seen in the United States and in the U.K., the shelters can become targets of hate. If we don’t bridge that gap now, it could get even worse.”

Having made her pitch to the anti-reception centre crowd, Daigle made her way to Centrepointe for a second rally, an hour later, this one in support. That rally was organized by Refugee 613 and attracted several hundred people, including Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and most members of council. Refugee 613 executive director Louisa Taylor said she wanted to counter some misinformation about the reception centres, misinformation that she said was making some of their future neighbours fearful.

“We were watching the rhetoric around the reception centres getting more and more negative until it seemed like it was no longer about people who had legitimate questions about process or transparency and it was becoming more about whether we should even have refugees in Canada,” Taylor said.

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“It’s pitting refugees against neighbourhood needs. That was really disappointing to us. We really feel Ottawa is more welcoming than that.”

The city is proposing two reception centres, one at 1645 Woodroffe Ave., on the federally owned Nepean Sportsplex property, and a secondary site at 40 Hearst Way, on part of the Eagleson Park and Ride. The centres will have a combined capacity of up to 300 residents, who will be able to stay for up to 90 days before moving into transitional or permanent housing. The city is working with outside agencies like Refugee 613 to provide supports in finding employment, navigating federal bureaucracy and dealing with trauma.

“It’s not typical for community organizations to be cheering for the city,” Taylor said. “But in this case, the city is actually making a thoughtful, innovative, brave choice to really stand by our welcoming values and invest in a system where there is none.

“Is the plan perfect? No. It’s still being developed. But they’ve made it clear that they are genuinely interested in a collaboration to co-design services. That’s new in Ottawa. And it’s rare to see anywhere in Canada.”

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One of those to speak at the Refugee 613 rally was Thomas Ndayiragije.

“If you’re wondering who is a refugee and who is an asylum seeker, you have one before you,” he said. “I hope I am not intimidating. I respond to smiles. I respond to love.”

Ndayiragije arrived in Canada in 2018 from Burundi and his first accommodation was at the Shepherds of Good Hope, for which he said he was deeply grateful.

“I got a warm bed and a winter jacket, but something was lacking. The shelter is not meant for people like me fleeing persecution. There was no service related to my needs. They are stretched beyond their capacity and they’re having to provide their services to other people they are not trained to help.”

Ndayiragije got a job two months after his arrival and remains a taxpayer who contributes to the community, he said.

Sutcliffe harkened back to how Ottawa welcomed Vietnam’s Boat People in the early 1980s and, more recently, waves of arrivals from Syria and Afghanistan.

“That’s what we’ve always done and that’s what we are going to continue to do. In Ottawa, you can depend on the kindness of strangers,” Sutcliffe said.

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“Everyone who’s been involved in building our community are either Indigenous, an immigrant or a descendant to immigrants,” he said. “That’s it. That’s all of us.”

Ottawa resident Jane O’Regan came to the rally to show her support after being alarmed by the protest against them after the city announced the Kanata and Nepean sites on Nov. 8.

“What brought me here is how unkind everyone who is protesting against it has been,” O’Regan said. “What upset me is that community members — my community members — who were so unable to be empathetic and compassionate when they knew people were coming to Canada needed support. I think it’s important to make people understand that when you arrive here there are people willing to help, who show empathy and are compassionate.”

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