Future asylum seekers coming through Roxham Road in Quebec will soon change their residence.
A new contract was just signed, at the end of April, worth $ 49.9 million with private company Rodimax Inc., which specializes in real estate development.
No specific location was mentioned, but one of the requirements of this public tender is the availability of locations near metro stations on the island of Montreal, with a space of at least 7552 square meters, with no other tenants, to accommodate a minimum of 700 beds.
This lease, which will take effect in January 2023, is for a period of 10 years.
These areas will primarily be used to house people crossing the Canada-US border irregularly to seek asylum.
After taking Roxham Road, located in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, they will take a bus to Montreal, where they can benefit from free accommodation and food service for several weeks.
During this time, the Regional Program for the Reception and Integration of Asylum Seekers (PRAIDA), under the CIUSSS du Center-Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, also offers them support in their immigration and integration procedures.
The health institution did not respond to requests for clarification from Radio-Canada.
Accommodation at full capacity
For several years, these migrants were housed in a YMCA, located west of the metropolis. Depending on traffic, CIUSSS – which currently has a total capacity of approximately 1,200 beds – also rents hotel rooms.
A contract was also signed last summer, for a year, with the Hyatt hotel, located in the Place Dupuis complex in Montreal. Almost all of these beds are currently occupied, due to the record influx of asylum seekers to Quebec since last winter.
For its part, Ottawa has also reserved, in recent months, nearly 900 hotel rooms in the Montreal region. These accommodations allow migrants who have not been fully vaccinated to complete a two -week quarantine there.
Two other companies have also bid to place these asylum seekers in Quebec in the future, including the company representing the Hyatt hotel, but these bids have been deemed non-compliant.
In collaboration with Daniel Boily
Source: Radio-Canada
