Ottawa Spent $100M on Hotels for Asylum Seekers in Niagara Falls Over a Year

Ottawa spent more than $100 million on hotel rooms for asylum seekers in Niagara Falls over a year, after nearly 5,000 individuals were transferred to the city between February 2023 and February 2024. The information was disclosed by the government in response to an Inquiry of Ministry filed by Conservative MP Tony Baldinelli, who represents Niagara Falls. A total of 4,896 asylum claimants were transferred to Niagara Falls hotels within the one-year period, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said. The IRCC leased a total of 2,787 beds in hotels in the city, with 2,018 of them being in use as of Feb. 1, 2024. Rooms are said to house between one individual asylum seeker and families of up to six people....