MORE HELP IS NEEDED FOR REFUGEES: MULTICULTURAL CENTRE

AGENCIES OFFERING ASSISTANCE UNDER-RESOURCED, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JANET MADUME SAYS

Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre executive director Janet Madume says the thousands of refugees placed in Niagara Falls hotels are getting enough to eat, despite concerns raised during a Niagara Region committee meeting this week.

Still, Madume — her organization is leading local efforts to assist the thousands of asylum seekers placed in Niagara Falls hotels by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — said more federal and provincial resources are needed to address other more pressing needs the asylum seekers are facing.

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati told members of the Region's public health and social services committee Tuesday the children of asylum seeker families need help.

"I was in some of the schools last week, and principals were telling me that some of the asylum seeker students are coming to school hungry and they're saying they're not being fed," Diodati said.

"I've also been speaking with some of the hotel operators, and I know they're receiving money every day to give them three meals a day."

He said there's "a breakdown somewhere in terms of the food."

While discussing a motion to ask the provincial government for almost $6 million in one-time funding to help the Region cope with the influx of social assistance applications from the refugees, Diodati asked "what is the best way to address and direct money to the food issue?"

"Because clearly there's an issue. There's a little bit of confusion about why and where, but there's a food issue," he said. "People have got to eat. Students

can't be having hunger pangs when they're trying to learn."

Community services commissioner Adrienne Jugley said the hotels are expected to provide food — three meals a day, plus snacks, plus bagged lunches for students."

"I would be concerned about having families directed to the food banks to sort of mitigate what they see as not being provided," Jugley said, adding IRCC has made a substantial investment into the hotels.

"I think there's a fair bit of investment in the food that is being provided for people in the hotels, including for students."

Madume agreed.

"Food is being provided," she said, adding if clients complain that they're not getting enough to eat "we always take it up with IRCC right away."

"Unfortunately, we can't cook food from everybody's culture, that's not realistic, but we worry about quantity. Quantity is key. We don't want them to be rationed food. They're not in jail," Madume added, in an interview.

"If they're provided food that's really inedible, yes, we will intervene. If we hear one complaint, we send it to IRCC because that one complaint it changes the trajectory for everybody."

She said children are also provided with food for school lunches.

However, Madume said the agencies assisting the refugees are under-resourced in other areas.

"I think that's the No. 1 thing that needs to happen in the system — offer assistance like we're doing for the Ukrainians with one-time funding — just to help out when they find housing there's some money to buy furniture and things like that," she said, referring to assistance announced last June to provide people escaping the war in the European country with $3,000 per adult and $1,500 per child.

"If they (the federal government) can inject resources into the system, things would be so much better," Madume said.

She said the provincial government also needs to increase funding for schools to help them accommodate the children of refugees entering the country.

Madume said there is a lot of misinformation circulating about the refugees — many of whom are entering Canada at unofficial border crossings such as Roxham Road near Montreal.

"I don't even know what the strategy is by saying all these things to be honest," she said. "I don't understand it, because we are on the ground and helping."