If you look inside the car, it’s obvious that someone is living there.
A shirt hangs from a hanger on a hook in the passenger side window. There are blankets, pillows, and eye masks in the back seat.
The vehicle has been his home since the federal government recently evicted the asylum seeker from a rented hotel. CBC News is not naming the man because he is awaiting a hearing on his refugee claim in Canada and fears for his safety and being deported.
“It’s very difficult. It’s very cold at night,” he said. “Sometimes there is no place to go to the bathroom or change clothes.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has rules in place for asylum seekers in hotels across Canada, and if broken, guests receive short-term eviction notices and are forced to sleep on the street or stay on the streets. You may have little choice but to sleep in the The incident happened in a car during the national housing crisis.
Accepting asylum seekers is a challenge for many countries, including Canada, as they grapple with ongoing irregular immigration patterns and polarized public opinion.
recent ottawa Announced as approximately 20% reduction In a recent poll, Canadians Increasingly negative attitudes towards immigrants.
Give 3 days leave for suspected violation
Two and a half years ago, the man arrived in Canada from North Africa via the Wroxham Road. unofficial border crossing For thousands of asylum seekers, they moved between Quebec and the United States and lived in one of the hotels in the Greater Toronto Area. But after an argument with his roommate, he recently received an eviction notice giving him three days to leave.
“I [cannot] “Imagine,” he said, “and we’re in Canada.”
CBC News sees the document as citing “failure to meet with IRCC representatives” and “aggressive” behavior as reasons for the eviction.
The asylum seeker said he missed the meeting because he missed the meeting, but denied being aggressive towards his roommate or IRCC staff.
“That’s not fair,” he said. “Nothing is wrong. I don’t know why.” [they] I say aggressive. ”
He told CBC News that immigration officials insisted the eviction was due to a meeting, not an issue with his roommate. At the last eviction meeting, he said he was told he could live in his car.
IRCC said in a statement to CBC News that it cannot discuss specific incidents due to privacy concerns. However, it said eviction notices for offensive behavior can be given “at very short notice due to safety concerns” and that eviction notices related to offensive behavior are “rare”.
Asylum seekers living in the GTA say they are now sleeping in their cars because of eviction policies at federally run hotels. Ottawa has rules for housing asylum seekers who must be given at least three days’ notice to leave if they are violated. CBC’s Lisa Singh interviewed the man, who claimed he had been treated unfairly.
The man’s roommate acknowledged in an interview that there had been an argument, but said the man was not physically aggressive. They still continue to communicate. The roommate also admitted that he received an eviction notice that gave him three days to move out. He said he slept at a bus stop for several weeks until someone locally took him in.
An IRCC spokesperson told CBC News: “In these cases, individuals will be notified within a short period of time to ensure the safety of others and staff. Notification will vary depending on the specific risk and circumstances; “Usually it’s within a week.”
Some violations can lead to an initial warning, after which penalties can escalate to eviction. There is no standardized or appeals process.
Under IRCC rules, asylum seekers staying in hotels for a variety of reasons, including breaking the 11pm curfew or cooking in their rooms, aggressive behavior or missing a meeting with an immigration officer. person can be evicted.
Evacuation centers are at capacity
“It’s disappointing,” said Robert Israel Blanchey, an immigration and refugee lawyer in Toronto. “It is embarrassing that a G7 and G20 country, one of the richest in the world, is still grappling with the resettlement needs of asylum seekers.”
Blanchey and other advocates said the brevity of the notice was compounded by the following circumstances: Canada’s housing crisisThe hotel is far from an ideal place to accommodate newcomers.
“There must be better solutions for housing refugees. It is a shame that everyone, including asylum seekers, is living on the streets.”
As of February 26, 7,800 asylum seekers were staying in about 34 hotels in six provinces, including about 5,100 in Ontario and 2,500 in Quebec. According to IRCC.
The problem of asylum seekers sleeping on the streets has become an ongoing issue in recent years as shelters are operating at full capacity and, in some cases, resulting in deaths.
Within the past year, two unsheltered asylum seekers have died in Mississauga, Ont. A man from Nigeria He was found dead in his tent in November 2023.. Kenyan woman Delfina Ngigi passed away in February. After waiting outside for hours for shelter space I spent the night on the floor of the shelter lobby.
Greg Cooke, a longtime Toronto outreach worker and steering committee member of the Shelter Housing Justice Network, said IRCC’s rules for applicants living in hotels are “demeaning.”
“They treat people like they’re not adults,” he said, noting they’re not subject to the same laws that protect tenants.
“As a tenant, I have rights. This person obviously didn’t have the same rights, and this person should have the same rights.”
“Patchwork of policies”
Saeed Hassan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, said governments at all levels are responsible for securing housing for asylum seekers.
“What we have is a patchwork of policies where ineligible people are excluded from basic landlord and tenant protections. [are] We are trying to tackle the housing issue. That doesn’t make sense,” he said.
Hassan said supporters should have been available to help the man if an eviction occurred, as his group has done in the past.
“I’ve seen this. I’ve heard this,” he said. “This person needed an advocate to work with them, communicate with them, and find solutions.”
Asylum seekers lacked such support and continue to spend nights in car parks, although not for very long. Thanks to community members, he found a place to live.
Still, he vows never to let his family back home know about his life on the streets. “I can’t say that to my mother, father, wife, or children. They would be very sad.”
