Federal minister 'sets the facts straight' after Quebec complains it isn't getting enough funding for asylum seekers

The prime minister's Quebec lieutenant, Pablo Rodriguez, is pushing back on the Quebec government saying Ottawa has been «passive» about the financial support needed to welcome asylum seekers putting down roots in the province.

Rodriguez, who is also Canada's transport minister, said he wanted to «set the facts straight» about Ottawa's contributions after Quebec ministers held a news conference Tuesday, asking the federal government to pay $1 billion — the amount they claim is «owed» for the province taking in thousands of asylum seekers in the past three years.

The Quebec government is also asking Ottawa to relocate asylum seekers more equitably throughout Canada and to slow their entry in the country by tightening Canadian visa policies.

«We are ready to sit down and look at the amounts requested, but do not come and say that there are no contributions from Ottawa,» Rodriguez said at a news conference in Montreal Thursday. «Quebec is claiming those amounts and those elements need to be discussed around a table.»

Quebec Family Minister Suzanne Roy told reporters earlier on Thursday that Ottawa «isn't doing its fair share» to cover the costs of receiving asylum seekers.

Rodriguez said that provincial deputy ministers and their federal counterparts meet regularly to discuss funding for asylum seekers, contrary to what the Quebec immigration, education, Canada relations and social solidarity ministers suggested.

He pointed to the Canada-Quebec Accord, through which the federal government has granted $4.4 billion to the province since 2015 and the $440.9 million transferred through the Interim Housing Assistance Program since 2017 to address asylum seekers' housing needs.

Quebec can expect to receive a total of $775.1 million for