OTTAWA -- The federal government will provide $50 million to Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba to help pay for some of the costs they have borne as a result of the influx of asylum seekers illegally crossing the Canada-U.S. border.
Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says this is by no means a final payment to these provinces for border crosser costs, but is meant to help address some of the immediate housing needs in those provinces.
Quebec, which has seen the majority of asylum seekers this year arriving through a forest path in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, will receive $36 million.
Ontario will get $11 million and Manitoba $3 million.
The provinces have asked for much more, with Quebec seeking $146 million and the city of Toronto alone saying it needs $64 million to recover asylum seeker costs.
Hussen says compensation negotiations with the three provinces will continue.
