Feds to give Toronto another $143M to help house asylum seekers
The federal government is providing Toronto with another $143 million in funding to help support the influx of asylum claimants arriving in the city.
The funding, which is through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) program, is part of the $362 million that will be distributed across Canada and was announced by federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier this week.
In July, the federal government announced that it would be providing $210 million to fund interim housing for asylum seekers, with about half of that money heading to Toronto.
But municipalities, including Toronto, previously said that more cash is needed addressing the true cost of the crisis.
Last month, the city’s Budget Chief Shelley Carroll indicated that city required another $250 million from the federal government to help cover the cost of housing asylum claimants in Toronto.
The city threatened homeowners with an additional six per cent levy on their tax bill in 2024 if the federal government didn’t come through with more cash.
Miller’s funding announcement came the night before Chow released her 2024 draft operating budget.
The new cash provided to the city will reimburse Toronto for costs incurred in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
Speaking at the news conference on Friday, Chow called the funding commitment a “down payment” that makes the city’s 2024 budget line for refugee claimants “whole.”
“That means that they have fully delivered for Toronto,” she said.
“Recognizing that our fiscal years don’t align… it is a down payment. It is a commitment and I am just so grateful.”
Freeland also announced Friday that Ottawa will provide a $19.75 million top-up to the city’s share of the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, which offers financial support to low-income renters.
Chow said this money will give 2,000 people “a chance to find decent, permanent homes.”
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