Ashley Potter inspects racks of donated winter clothing. There, hanging among the winter coats and sweaters, are a number of Ottawa Senators jerseys.
New immigrants to Canada may soon become supporters of Ottawa’s hockey team.
“We need to make sure people are properly dressed to get through this first winter in Canada,” Potter told CBC Radio’s The House.
the house13:24Special focus on immigration: Shelters continue to struggle with surge of new immigrants
Mr. Potter is the manager of frontline services at the Ottawa Mission, which provides food, shelter and clothing to vulnerable people in the city.
He is responsible for juggling the mission’s finite resources with the growing demand for its services, which has seen an increase in the number of refugees and asylum seekers in recent years.
Last October, the percentage of migrants sleeping in his shelters hit a record high.
Asylum seekers accounted for 61% of those occupying shelter beds as of October 2023, according to the mission’s annual report for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
By September 2024, that percentage had decreased to 36%. Potter attributed the decline to warmer weather and the city of Ottawa opening an emergency centre.
But as the weather gets colder, many people in the city are without a place to call home.
“Some people are being forced to sleep on plastic chairs in lounges in the hope that a bed will be available the next day,” Mr Potter said.
Arrived with nowhere to go
Rexford has been sleeping on the mission for the past five months. CBC has agreed to use only his first name because his immigration status as an asylum seeker is under review and he is concerned that it could affect his asylum claim.
He fled Ghana after the country passed a law in February making it illegal to identify as 2SLGBTQ+. He arrived in Ottawa in May.
Rexford went straight from the airport to the Ottawa Mission and began her life in Canada by sleeping on the floor of the shelter’s chapel. He is currently on a waiting list for housing.
Potter said the mission is committed to helping anyone in need who comes to them, but new arrivals like Rexford will replace existing vulnerable customers. . Many people struggle with addiction, and they struggle even more when shelters are full.
“They’re not going to wait in line for hours to see if they can access a bed,” Potter said. “We see them trying to go to another shelter or just using the shelter.” [drugs] Out on the street. ”
Over the past two years, the shelter’s response to overdoses has increased by 500 percent, Potter said.
Potter said the people who overdose are “new to this country, very optimistic, and eager to get to work.”
“And then, you know, a couple of months later, you see their names on the overdose report,” he said. “I can only imagine what the journey was like, from optimism to despair to where I am today, allied to addiction.”
Bed, food, skill training
Jeanne Mitab leans over a turkey breast and carves precise, even slices.
She is one of 30 students learning how to prepare thousands of Thanksgiving meals to feed vulnerable residents in Ottawa, most of them in Canada. I’m a student who just arrived.
All students are enrolled in the Mission’s food service training program, which was created by chef Rick Watson in 2004 to teach catering skills.
Currently, Watson estimates that three-quarters of the class are newcomers to Canada.
“All they wanted was a better life and to change their lives,” Ms Watson told The House host Katherine Cullen. “And they come with a horrible past for many of them, so we knew we had to help.”
Mitab is from Rwanda. She came to Canada in August 2022 with her husband and four children, who were admitted to Canada through the federal skilled worker program.
When she arrived in Canada, friends invited her to sample traditional Thanksgiving foods such as turkey, salad, and pumpkin pie.
“We really enjoyed [the food] “Because it was my first time eating it,” Mitab said, adding, “It’s like a sign of recognition for what the farmers did the previous season. We’re part of the Thanksgiving culture here in Canada. I am truly grateful.”
Mitab is grateful for the opportunity to resettle in Canada. Asked about the current debate over immigration levels, she argued that new entrants are good for the country.
“When you open your doors to a lot of people from different continents, there’s learning and interaction, and that’s a good thing,” she said.
Mitab said he is looking forward to learning how to prepare dishes from different Canadian cultures as he continues his training program.
“This catering job…gives me the opportunity to embrace the world in one place,” Mitab said.
Growing concerns about immigration policy
Over the past two years, provinces and the federal government have been scrutinizing Canada’s immigration system, severely limiting the number of new immigrants allowed into the country.
Opinion polls show that Canadian sentiment toward immigration is changing. In September, the Angus Reid Institute revealed that Canadians’ concerns about immigration have quadrupled in the past two years.
“This really puts into context the extent to which this is casually floating around in Canadians’ minds right now,” said Shachi Carle, director of the Angus Reid Institute.
Additionally, a quarter of poll respondents said immigration and refugees are one of the biggest issues facing this country and are closely related to climate change. (The poll found that the high cost of living, health care costs and housing affordability remain the top concerns for most Canadians).
“At this stage, where life is becoming more difficult and people feel like they can’t afford it, people are looking at immigration as one of the many underlying causes or problems or drivers of the problem and saying, ‘Well, yeah. ‘I’m not surprised. [immigration] That’s part of the problem,” Karl said.
“I don’t think there’s been a consensus on immigration for a while, if there ever was one. Maybe we just haven’t talked about it publicly.”