Asylum seekers who’ve been living at a conference centre in Cornwall, Ont., say they’re concerned about how quickly their move-out date is approaching.
At the beginning of July, hundreds of people living at the Dev Hotel and Conference Centre were told they would need to move by July 31 due to the end of the federal government’s contract with the centre, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The length of time people have been there varies, from over a year for some to a matter of months for others.
The centre was housing 490 people as of July 24, said the IRCC.
CBC News spoke to multiple residents and has agreed not to reveal their full identities due to their concerns over safety, political retaliation or their immigration status.
One man who identified himself as Bahir arrived in Canada around September 2022 when operations at the centre began.
He said the current housing market and thought of being uprooted again isn’t helping his hopes.
“We will lose our jobs, and we are not able to find any houses here. It’s very difficult, we don’t know what to do,” Bahir said. “[People] saw some pictures of places where they would be transferred and it aggravated their situations.”
Several residents told CBC they’ve been given the choice to move to other centres in either Niagara Falls, Ont., or Windsor, Ont., if they can’t arrange their own housing.
Niagara Falls is more than 550 kilometres from Cornwall, while Windsor is about 800 kilometres away.
Displacement could impact children, local businesses
Several community groups in Cornwall say they’re also uneasy about the displacement of the conference centre’s residents, as well as the impacts on newcomers who’ve become deeply integrated.
The early July announcement prompted 15 organizations to sign a letter asking for a 60-day allowance for people to stay and try to find other accommodations.
The letter was sent to Immigration Minister Marc Miller, Housing and Infrastructure Minister Sean Fraser and Treasury Board President Anita Anand.
The Association des communautés francophones de l’Ontario – Stormont, Dundas, et Glengarry (ACFO-SDG) was one of the parties that penned the letter.
Its executive director Sonia Behilil says asylum seekers living there have become a part of the community’s fabric, with many working locally and sending their children to local schools.
“We have seen our community change for the better, to be honest. We’ve seen new members in our community arriving and establishing themselves,” said BehiliI.
They’re so grateful of that opportunity to start over here.– Juliette Labossière
Juliette Labossière, executive director of United Way of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, also helped write the letter and agrees that the results of the move will have economic consequences.
Some employers risk losing 40 employees in one fell swoop, she said.
“We have other smaller businesses where one employee is filling a role that’s been empty for a very long time,” Labossière said.
“And they’re not just doing it. They’re doing it really well, because they’re so grateful of that opportunity to start over here.”
‘I don’t think this just happened out of nowhere’
Several of the centre’s residents told CBC they’d found employment in Cornwall and have been making efforts to stay.
One resident who has a job but hasn’t been able to secure housing says the barriers facing newcomers have made that search difficult.
“They are asking for a lot of things that some of us who are newly here, we don’t even have,” they said. “Some of us right now, as I speak, we don’t even know where to go. We are just going to go into the street.”
When asked why they were choosing to stay, they said living in Cornwall has given them “something to hold on to.”
“I’ve got three days that I’m working. So I would rather keep that three days than to go and start fresh somewhere else,” they said.
Another resident told CBC they had four jobs in Cornwall, and relocating to Niagara Falls or Windsor wouldn’t be easy.
“It would have been more humane if they had given us more time because I don’t think this just happened out of nowhere. They must have seen it brewing,” they said.
“And it’d have been better if we were told, like, two months in advance.”
IRCC working with city to ensure all claimants will have housing
In a statement to CBC, the IRCC said the number of hotel rooms occupied by asylum claimants is decreasing daily and some people have “secured housing and successfully transitioned to independent living.”
Asylum claimants are also told upon arriving at the IRCC’s accommodation sites that the stays are only temporary, the statement said.
“Claimants are expected and supported to look for permanent housing while they are being accommodated by IRCC. Asylum claimants are provided with resources and assistance to find housing, employment, education and other necessities and are expected to transition to independent living as soon as possible,” the IRCC said.
The IRCC said it’s committed to keep working with the City of Cornwall to ensure no claimant is left homeless as a result of the process.
The department also said it’s offering support during this time and that they encourage claimants to explore nearby cities and towns for more housing options.