Two new immigration Reception Centres opened this year.
The opening of two new immigration Reception Centres in Mississauga this year will see that asylum seekers and refugees are separated from local homeless populations and increasingly, moved out of rented hotel rooms.
The Polycultural Reception House, a shelter and service centre for refugees, opened on June 20. Located at 73 King Street West in Mississauga, the Reception House is the first shelter of its kind in Mississauga. It serves refugees, most of whom are Government Assisted Refugees, meaning people with official refugee status who have been identified by the Canadian government and provided with assistance in resettling in Canada.
The Polycultural Reception House provides temporary housing for newly arrived refugees (typically a three week stay) and services to help them find permanent housing, employment, health care, education and help with navigating other challenges as they adapt to life in Canada.
Prior to the opening of the Reception House, newly arrived refugees in Mississauga were housed in hotel rooms. More and more, governments and non-profit agencies are finding the hotel-based emergency shelter system unsustainable and are pushing for more purpose-built shelters with in-house support services.
On February 3, Peel Region announced the opening of the Peel Reception Centre on Spectrum Way, across from Pearson Airport, in Mississauga. The 680 bed, dormitory-style, shelter is the largest of its kind in Canada. Converted from a four storey office building, the centre provides emergency housing for homeless singles, couples and families with adult children who arrive in Canada and claim asylum.
There is a central intake process to serve asylum seekers. This process operates separately from Peel Region’s homeless shelter system for the local population. This is a big change. Prior to July, 2024, Peel Region’s homeless population, whether local or newly arrived asylum seekers, were all processed and housed through the same shelter system and in rented overflow hotel rooms.
In 2023 and 2024 the system was running 300%-400% over capacity and two asylum seekers died while waiting for shelter. With the opening of the new Reception Centre, Peel Region staff are now proposing a reduction in service levels from 1280 households down to 790 in order to better align with projected federal funding and current asylum seeker demand. 680 people would be accommodated through the Reception Centre and 110 in hotel rooms. Families with minor children continue to be housed in hotels. This model, however, is not considered “sustainable and cost-effective” and therefore, Peel Region would like to move forward with establishing a permanent family shelter for asylum seekers. According to a staff report provided to Peel Regional Council on February 27 of this year, building a new family shelter would require support from the Federal government. Peel Regional Council has applied for $38.8 million in federal funding to “acquire and renovate a dedicated site for families.”
FACT SHEET
The Peel Reception Centre provides asylum seekers with free access to:
- bunk-bed accommodation
- meals at the cafeteria
- Lockers
- luggage storage
- Showers
- laundry facilities
- prayer rooms
In 2024 the average length of stay for an asylum seeker in a shelter was 161 days for families. Meanwhile, it was 107 days for individuals.
