Hundreds of French-speaking asylum seekers have been transferred — often against their own will — from Quebec to Ontario since July. The task of orienting them upon their arrival in the predominantly English-speaking province depends largely on the work of Francophone community workers and organizations.
The federal government sent nearly 5500 asylum seekers in four Ontario cities since the beginning of July. Just over half were sent to Niagara Falls. The others headed for Ottawa, Windsor and Cornwall. It was Quebec that asked Ottawa to find solutions to manage the influx of arrivals at Roxham Road. The transfer operation is entirely the responsibility of Ottawa, which pays for the hotel stay.
In Niagara Falls, nearly 1,300 asylum seekers would be housed in four hotels, according to a speaker on site. Ottawa does not keep data on the language spoken by people being transferred, but according to Bonaventure Otshudi, director of newcomer services at the Hamilton/Niagara Community Health Center, about 10% of applicants housed in Niagara Falls are French-speaking. Cornwall has welcomed “a large number of Francophones,” says Sonia Behilil, director of operations at the Association of Francophone Communities of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (ACFO-SDG).
There are many challenges for these French-speaking asylum seekers when they arrive in Ontario. Some are confused and don’t even know where they are. Workers guide them, act as interpreters during medical appointments, help them open bank accounts and find accommodation in their region. “When asylum seekers arrive here, some are in dire straits,” notes Naromie Azar Charles, president and CEO of the Regohva organization in Welland, near Niagara Falls, and financial officer at Desjardins.
rapid influx
The federal government offered little information to the public about the transfer of asylum seekers. However, the experience of workers in the field shows that the arrival of claimants in Ontario came suddenly. In Cornwall, ACFO-SDG — which recently created its own immigration reception hub — went from 5 visitors to 60 “very quickly,” says Sonia Behilil. “We had to deal with lost people, despite the resources available,” she says.
ACFO-SDG then proposed to the DEV Hotel and Conference Centre, which houses hundreds of asylum seekers, to work together to help the refugees. From November to January, the Francophone association walked the halls of the hotel and helped asylum seekers integrate into the community, obtain their benefits, find the resources they needed and ensure their safety. . “We were so proud to show that a French-speaking initiation had its place on the broader scene of the region,” says Sonia Behilil.
In Niagara Falls, speakers like Bonaventure Otshudi also visit the hotels. Staying in such facilities is a blessing and a curse for refugees, said Adrien Wilsonne, a Haitian-born pastor in Fort Erie. They live somewhere, but have no contact with what is happening outside the walls, he says. Some French speakers staying at the hotel were told they had a medical appointment ” and when they arrived they found that they did not understand English »describes Adrien Wilsonne, who acted as an interpreter for some asylum seekers.
Call for solidarity
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the past ensured that transfers were made on a voluntary basis, but in response to a question from the Duty, the agency admitted that it is possible for a person to be moved against their will to Ontario and then returned to Quebec when a place in Quebec becomes available. Adrien Wilsonne is categorical: “These are people we landed,” he said. Some even return by their own means to Quebec, since they have relatives in the province.
For those who decide to stay in the Niagara region, the transition from hotel to own accommodation is complex. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,260 in the area, but Ontario’s social assistance program only offers a housing allowance of $756 for a family of four. “I have a family with three children and whose wife is pregnant. For housing, we ask for work papers, credit records and on top of that, with inflation, the basic allowance is not enough”, illustrates Naromie Azar Charles.
This report benefits from the supportof the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.