CIMM – Federal Support for Asylum Seekers – November 18, 2022

Key Messages

• The federal government directly supports asylum seekers through temporary hotel accommodations, coverage through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), and legal aid.
• It also provides indirect support via funding to provinces and municipalities for interim housing through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP), and for other social services via the Canada Social Transfer and Canada-Quebec Accord.
• The federal government remains committed to working with partners to develop shared solutions to support asylum seekers, and will continue to help alleviate the pressures faced with respect to temporary housing.

Supplementary Messages

Federal funding mechanism and support to provinces

• Provinces are generally responsible for managing and delivering social services, including social assistance, education, housing, and legal aid, to asylum claimants while they await a decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) on their claim.
• The Government recognizes the additional financial pressures asylum volumes have placed on provincial and municipal systems. Funding through IFHP, IHAP, and legal aid helps alleviate these pressures.

Interim Lodging Sites (see IRCC Hotels Note for more)

• IRCC will continue to provide accommodations to asylum claimants arriving through Roxham Road, and from Trudeau International Airport in Montreal, on an exceptional basis, when provincial shelters are full.

Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP)

• IHAP reimburses, on a cost-shared basis, direct housing expenses, such as shelters and hotel rooms, and indirect costs such as meals.
• The program was renewed until March 31, 2023, to help provinces and municipalities address costs resulting from increased volumes of asylum claimants and measures related to COVID-19.
• To date, IHAP has paid out $534.5M, including $374M to Quebec and $146.5M to municipalities in Ontario.

Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)

• IFHP bridges a gap in health coverage for refugees and asylum claimants until they qualify for provincial or territorial insurance, as well as for other uniquely vulnerable foreign nationals, such as immigration detainees and victims of human trafficking, who are not otherwise eligible to receive publicly funded healthcare in Canada.
• The Program helps asylum claimants address medical needs by providing coverage throughout the refugee determination process, until they become eligible for provincial or territorial health insurance as a Protected Person, or, depart Canada.
• The Government of Canada provided the IFHP with additional funding of $739M for fiscal year 2021-2022 and fiscal year 2022-2023. This helps alleviate the pressure on provinces and territories. IFHP registered healthcare providers are reimbursed for services provided to asylum claimants by the Government of Canada, via a third-party claims administrator.

Legal Aid

• Administered by Justice Canada, the Legal Aid Program assists asylum claimants by supporting access to legal aid services to assist with claims, hearings and appeals in the asylum process.
• It helps ensure claimants appearing before IRB to provide a clear, consistent and complete narrative, which also supports IRB in making timely and fair decisions.

Other programs that support provincial services

• The federal government also contributes to provincial services for asylum claimants through the Canada Social Transfer (CST). CST supports three broad areas: post-secondary education, social assistance and social services, and programs for children.
• The federal government provides an annual grant to Quebec, under the Canada-Quebec Accord to support settlement, reception and integration services. (see Canada-Quebec Accord note)

Supporting Facts And Figures

IHAP facts and figures

• To date, IHAP payments have totaled $534.52M: Quebec ($374M); British Columbia ($6M); Manitoba ($8M); City of Toronto ($127M); City of Ottawa ($17.1M); Region of Peel ($2.2M); City of Hamilton ($220,000). $173M remains available to cover the costs for the 2021 and 2022 calendar year.

IFHP facts and figures

• In fiscal year 2021-2022, 242,405 newcomers were eligible for IFHP, which included 166,345 asylum claimants. The total number of IFHP beneficiaries was 11% higher than fiscal year 2020-2021, mainly due to the easing of border restrictions and growth in refugee volumes related to Afghanistan resettlement.
• During fiscal year 2021-2022, approximately 35% of all eligible asylum claimants who accessed^{Footnote 1} IFHP resided in Quebec. Quebec received approximately 37% of IFHP’s overall healthcare reimbursements for all asylum claimants in Canada.
• The Department continues to work closely with a network of more than 94,000 registered IFHP service providers to ensure beneficiaries are well supported and can access necessary medical care.

Legal aid facts and figures

• Budget 2022 announced an additional $43.5M for this year, raising the total available to $55M for 2022-2023, to the Minister of Justice for this program. Provincial funding allocations will be confirmed later.

Background

Interim lodging sites (see IRCC Hotels Note for more details)

• For the time being, IRCC will continue to provide temporary accommodations and basic support services to asylum claimants who have nowhere else to go for shelter even though the pandemic-related Order-in-Councils have ended, particularly in Quebec. Given that Quebec receives more than 95% of all between the port claimants to Canada, this will continue to alleviate pressure on Quebec’s shelter system in the interim.

Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP)

• The temporary provision of grant funding through IHAP was designed to allow provinces to adjust to new asylum pressures and increase interim housing capacity, reducing the risk of homelessness for claimants.
• Though originally intended to sunset in March 2020, IHAP was renewed twice through to March 2023. This allow partners to access support for interim housing costs for 2020, 2021 and 2022. No payments have yet been made for 2021 costs, but an agreement has been reached with Toronto and discussions are ongoing with the Government of Quebec.

Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)

The IFHP provides temporary healthcare coverage for refugees, asylum claimants and certain other groups who, do not have access to provincial or territorial health insurance or extended healthcare benefits. Under IFHP, asylum claimants receive basic (e.g., hospital and physician services), supplemental (e.g. urgent dental and vision care, assistive devices, mental health counselling) and prescription drug coverage for the full duration of the refugee determination process, until they either qualify for provincial or territorial health insurance after receiving a positive decision on their claim or are removed from Canada.

Legal Aid

• The Department of Justice Canada’s Legal Aid Program, a cost-shared program between the federal government and provincial/territorial governments, provides contribution funding for immigration and refugee legal aid to the six jurisdictions: British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Funding for legal aid services flows to provincial governments, who in turn provide funding to provincial legal aid providers.
• Justice Canada works with IRCC to monitor the volume of refugee claimants, and with the provinces to assess the impact that volumes are having on demand for legal aid services.

Canada Social Transfer (CST) and the Canada-Quebec Accord

• Asylum claimants have access to provincial social services throughout the claims process. CST is the main vehicle through which the federal government contributes to social service costs for asylum claimants. In 2022-2023, the CST will provide $15.9B to provinces and territories. Of this total, Quebec will receive $3.6B.
• The Canada-Quebec Accord is a yearly grant from the federal government to Quebec that supports reception and integration services (see Canada-Quebec Accord note for more).