City Council is going to ask the federal government if asylum claimants being housed in two Windsor hotels could be moved to sites that would not have a direct impact on tourism.
At Monday's meeting, council voted to direct administration to send a letter asking whether the government would consider other hotel sites or even splitting up the asylum claimants into several hotels.
Andrew Daher, city commissioner of human and health services, told council that the federal government fully funds the food and housing of these asylum claimants and has control.
However, he says city officials do meet with Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials and can pass along requests.
While Daher can not disclose which hotels are housing asylum claimants, he did tell council that one is downtown while another is outside the core.
Ward 8 Councillor Gary Kaschak points to two recent events—the NFL Draft party downtown and the Canadian Diving Trials and Summer National Championships—that brought people downtown.
Kaschak says, for the greater benefit of downtown Windsor and the tourism community, they would like a little more say on where the asylum claimants end up.
"We just don't want those rooms to not be available, become unavailable, and have to get people to go out to the outskirts of Windsor to stay in rooms for events that they primarily want to come to downtown Windsor for," he says.
As of May 7, there was approximately 743 asylum claimants residing in two Windsor hotels, down from the 839 reported on April 9, 2024.
Kaschak says they understand the need for this and support the asylum claimants.
"We've got some good ideas as to what we'd like to do. They know Windsor is one of the top cities in Canada right now for growth and for things happening. If we can nudge them in the right direction and make a couple of good suggestions and a couple of other hotels, stay away from our downtown stuff," he says.
A report to council says the two hotels being used to house the asylum claimants will continue to be operational throughout most of 2024.
Kaschak says some of these people are coming from war-torn countries.
"We'd like to benefit them, and we've always been that welcoming country, but I think there's a way we can do that and still keep on pace with the amount of tourism we're starting to experience in Windsor," he adds.
City administration says it continues to work with the government and all community partners to help find appropriate housing and services for these individuals and families.
The asylum seekers were transported to Windsor in early 2023 as the federal government had to contend with an influx in asylum claimants, the majority intercepted at the Quebec and New York border, specifically at the irregular crossing at Roxham Road.