Some migrants are fragile like the gillyflower, they don’t survive being swiped through brushwood and thorns. Having fled the hardship at home, they die, daily, to unexpected adversity abroad.
It’s a sad fate for Nigerians living abroad, in Canada to be precise. Poverty and economic hardship influenced their migration to Canada. But like a flock of ducks desperately chasing bugs in a field, their survival is tied to the ease of doing business and other opportunities brokered by their attainment of legitimate resident status – a privilege many Canadaa-based Nigerians have been denied.
Interestingly, the number of people living in emergency shelters or on the streets surged in all regions of Quebec over the last four years but rose most sharply outside Montreal, a new report says. Commissioned by the province’s Health Department, the report found that “visible” homelessness in Quebec increased by about 44 per cent between April 2018 and October 2022, and by 33 per cent in Montreal.
The analysis by the province’s public health institute says Quebec is witnessing a “regionalization of street homelessness,” as the number of people living outside has become increasingly significant in regions such as Mauricie–Centre-du-Quebec, Estrie and the Outaouais.
In Quebec, one of the country’s largest cities, for instance, one in two homeless people can be located in rural areas in odd places. This is explained by Julie Bourdon, the Mayor of Granby, who noted that, “visible homelessness did not exist three years ago in Granby,” adding however that “rents are very high now compared to two years ago.”
As dire as economic situation in Nigeria is at the moment, not even dollar-a-day Nigerians at home are living in the kind of places some Nigerians are said to find as homes in Canada, all in the quest for ‘better’ living condition and jobs abroad.
Due largely to the rent crisis arising from low housing supply and affordability issues which also define the housing market in Nigeria, some Nigerians who left Nigeria for Canada are now living in cemetery and streets—places that are odd and unimaginable under normal circumstances.
The streets of Canada and, in extreme cases, the cemetery have become top destinations for immigrants and refugees and it is reported that several immigrants, running into tens of thousands, are now pitching their tents in these places as their homes.
The housing situation in this North American country considered to be the second largest in the world after Russia, is such that, in January this year, the country revealed that it was considering limiting the number of international student visas, including Nigeria, as part of solutions to its housing shortages.
This was according Sean Fraser, the country‘s minister for housing, infrastructure, and communities, who noted that the sharp rise in the number of students was putting pronounced pressure on some housing markets.
It was reported that from January to June 2023, about 10,180 Nigerians moved to Canada, prompting a report by a renting agent in the country called Rentals.ca to note that “the growing number of students entering Canada has added further upward pressure on rents.”
These are, however, to be expected from a country which, in the last few years, has become a preferred destination for international students due to its immigration-friendly policies.
“Recently, the Canadian federal government announced an aggressive plan to take in 500,000 immigrants a year by 2025, with almost 1.5 million new immigrants coming to the country over the next three years. In 2022, the country welcomed 437,120 permanent residents, almost 8 percent increase from the total number of permanent residents in 2021,” the paper said.
It quoted Fraser as saying, “immigration levels plan will help businesses find the workers they need.”
Like Nigeria, the housing problem in Canada has no immediate solution as it is reported that the country’s 2023 budget ignores its worsening housing and homelessness crises and fails to support those in greatest need.
The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) lamented recently that as communities across the country experience an increase in homelessness and an explosion in housing need, the federal government’s budget failed to do anything new to address the housing crisis.
However, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission(NiDCOM), has warned Nigerians against traveling abroad without proper documentation.
Dabiri-Erewa spoke on Thursday when she visited some stranded Nigerians who violated Canada’s immigration laws.
The Nigerians, mostly youths, are currently living in a shelter for asylum seekers in Brampton.
In a video posted on NIDCOM’s X account, Dabiri-Erewa said the situation “really is not quite a pleasant sight to behold”.
“We pray and hope that they get out of this situation,” she said, describing the majority of the asylum seekers as “young vibrant Nigerians”.
The NIDCOM chairperson thanked the Nigerians who have been supporting the illegal migrants, adding that the commission donated some items and provided counselling to the stranded citizens.
“But the key thing is I hope you get out of this, but for the next person planning to do this, it’s not worth it,” Dabiri-Erewa added.
During a counselling session, Bayo Adedosu, an immigration consultant, asked the asylum seekers to put their trust in God.
“You will need to endure, don’t have any expectations, the only expectation you should have at this point is God. Your case is in God’s hands – all of you,” Adedosu said.
He also asked the asylum seekers to refrain from painting Nigeria in a bad light while trying to process their papers.
Vivian Eruka, a pastor, who runs the Bethel food bank and works with those in shelters, informed that the mayor of Brampton has promised to make 800 more beds available and shelter.
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