THUNDER BAY -- The city could start temporarily housing Syrian refugees as early as next month.
City council decided unanimously Monday night to have its Emergency Operations Committee organize a way to temporarily house up to 20 families, around 100 people, after a request by the Thunder Bay Multicultural Association.
The association approached the city in September as a recognized Sponsorship Agreement Holder through the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Mayor Keith Hobbs was then contacted by federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum this past weekend.
In a memo to the city, officials were notified it could cost an estimated $150,000 to $200,000 per week for food, shelter and transportation for two weeks or as long as it takes to provide permanent housing.Those estimates are based on the cost of housing evacuees during forest fires in the far North this past summer. Administration said it's a ballpark figure.
Who would be paying for that is not specified, but it is assumed to come from the federal government.
Coun. Linda Rydholm said her church has sponsored refugees and it's not a simple undertaking. She added an amendment, which council passed, that said federal funding would be needed.
"The fact that a federal minster is phoning mayors across the country tells you something,” she said.
“I’m aghast.”
Acting city manager Norm Gale said the EOC could get to work right away to figure out logistics but it would be helpful to have some idea of how much federal funding could be available and when.
"There's no budget in place for this at this time," he said.
Gale and others in administration said there were a lot of questions to be answered. Coun. Joe Virdiramo said of course the city wants to help but they need to know where the money is coming from. Coun. Andrew Foulds said he was concerned about the lack of firm commitments from the federal government as well but the city needs to do what it can to help.
"People do not choose to be refugees. They are in the worst situations we can possibly imagine," he said.
Coun. Brian McKinnon said there were a lot of people in Thunder Bay who could use help too.
"For those people it's an emergency as well," he said.
"There seems to be an unbalance here."
Several councillors said many of those issues were the result of an unwilling federal partner. With a new government in place, Coun. Paul Pugh said he's hoping to see more movement on poverty issues.
Welcoming refugees to the city could also be an opportunity to not only help them but help the region Coun. Rebecca Johnson said. More people could bolster the city's workforce and give the region a future as many refugees are children. Thunder Bay doesn't always have the best reputation for welcoming people she said. This could help the city's reputation.
"We need these people in our community," she said.
Johnson also pointed out that not everyone in the city would agree with council's decision.
"Will some people not be happy? I can guarantee you that," she said.
