Toronto, Canada (ANTARA News) – Health workers and humanitarian volunteers are using Montreal’s Olympic stadium to house asylum seekers amid a surge in arrivals from the United States.
The Quebec Red Cross and local health services opened the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday to asylum seekers arriving by bus after crossing the American border, said Canadian Red Cross spokesperson Stéphanie Picard.
The city of Montreal has received an influx of people seeking refugee status from the United States. The region’s government is having difficulty welcoming them.
The Quebec Red Cross can only help by providing sleeping beds and other personal equipment.
Montreal health officials have not said how many asylum seekers were housed in the stadium built for the 1976 Olympics and now used for public events.
Since the start of the year, more than 4,300 people have left the United States for Canada to apply for refugee status. Most of them came to the state of Quebec, according to local government data.
Many asylum seekers interviewed by Reuters said they left the United States because they were worried about U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies.
Those who cross the border illegally to seek asylum are detained for questioning by police and border officials, before being allowed to remain in Canada during the process of obtaining refugee status.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre welcomed the asylum seekers on Twitter on Wednesday. He said 2,500 people came to his town last July.
He also wrote that providing services to migrants is a humanitarian obligation.
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