City explains why it missed federal deadline for reimbursement of shelter costs for asylum claimants

A mistake at city hall could see London, Ont. lose out on more than $1 million of federal funding to reimburse emergency shelters providing beds to asylum claimants.

A mistake at city hall could see London, Ont. lose out on more than $1 million of federal funding to reimburse emergency shelters providing beds to asylum claimants.

On Monday, the Community and Protective Services (CAPS) Committee discussed why London missed the deadline for federal reimbursement of shelter costs related to asylum claimants.

The mayor urged the committee to avoid finger pointing.

“In these situations when they get very tense, it’s pretty easy to start pointing fingers at everybody, but that does not actually solve the challenge that we have in our city,” Mayor Josh Morgan told the committee.

People arriving in Canada seeking asylum are increasingly travelling to London and staying in emergency shelter beds, including Mission Services and the Salvation Army Centre of Hope.

According to a municipal database, between May 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, there were 123 individual asylum claimants who spent a total of 11,073 nights in emergency shelter beds— 11.9 per cent of the city’s capacity.

At an average cost of $96.66/night, shelter costs have exceeded $1 million.