Ontario Premier Doug Ford walked back his pledge Monday to have the province issue work permits to asylum seekers, reversing course less than a week after announcing the controversial plan to bypass federal immigration authority.
Ford had declared last Wednesday that Ontario would use constitutional powers to grant work permits to approximately 100,000 asylum seekers in the province, claiming federal processing delays were keeping refugees waiting “over two years” for authorization to work.
The federal government immediately disputed Ford’s timeline, saying work permits are typically processed within 45 days of a completed application. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said Ontario’s average processing time is 48 days.
“I don’t want to take the responsibility off the federal government,” Ford told reporters Monday at Queen’s Park, offering no explanation for his change of position.
Ford had originally planned to invoke Section 95 of the Constitution, which allows provinces to make immigration decisions that don’t conflict with federal law. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith had suggested the approach during last week’s Council of the Federation meeting in Huntsville, Ontario.
The Ontario premier admitted Monday that his two-year delay claim was based on anecdotal evidence. “I just go out there and I’m hearing it on the street,” Ford said, explaining his source for the processing time estimate.
Provincial Labour Minister David Piccini said Ontario has abandoned the work permit initiative.
Opposition NDP Leader Marit Stiles criticized Ford for “flipping and flopping” on the issue, saying he should focus on provincial responsibilities like healthcare and infrastructure rather than federal immigration matters.
The reversal comes as federal funding for asylum seeker hotel accommodations is set to end September 30. The federal government has spent $1.1 billion on temporary hotel housing since 2020, currently housing 485 asylum seekers in five hotels across Ontario and Quebec.
Read: Canada to End Hotel Funding for Asylum Seekers in September Amid $1.1B Crisis
Ford said he remains concerned about the federal funding cuts and continues to call for faster processing of asylum claims and work permit applications.
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