By Canadian Press

Ontario overestimated costs of services to irregular border crossers: auditor

Jul 8, 2020 | 12:32 PM

TORONTO — Ontario’s auditor general says the province significantly overstated the costs of providing services to asylum seekers coming into Canada from the United States.

In a special report released today, Bonnie Lysyk says the $200 million estimate given by the governing Progressive Conservatives in 2018 represented the cost of providing services to all refugee claimants, not just so-called irregular border crossers.

She says the minister of social services at the time, Lisa MacLeod, was given inaccurate information by civil servants.

MacLeod had formally requested $200 million from Ottawa to cover costs she said were incurred by the province and its municipalities as a result of an influx of asylum seekers arriving from the U.S.

Lysyk says her office found the Ontario government spent roughly $81 million on services for irregular asylum seekers between April 1, 2017, when the federal government first started tracking their arrival, and July 31, 2018.

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She says the federal government has given $15.6 million in compensation to Toronto, Ottawa and Peel Region.

“The accuracy of information provided by the ministry to the minister for the public announcement was far off the mark,” Lysyk said in a statement.

“Senior government officials need to ensure the accuracy of the information provided to government for public announcements and decision-making.”

The auditor recommended Ontario seek an immigration agreement with the federal government that includes compensation for providing services to refugee claimants, including irregular border crossers.

The current deal does not, and more costs were incurred until the border was closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

Quebec, which has a separate cost-sharing agreement with Ottawa, incurred $300 million in costs and has received $286 million in compensation, Lysyk said.

Canada’s Safe Third Country agreement with the U.S. says asylum seekers are required to make their claims in the first “safe” country where they arrive, which means those who try to enter Canada at an official land crossing are sent back to make their claim in the U.S.

The agreement does not cover “irregular” asylum seekers — those who come in through unofficial crossings.

The auditor says 36 per cent of refugee claimants in Ontario in recent years came in at unofficial points.

The province provides services such as temporary housing, settlement services and language training.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 8, 2020.

The Canadian Press