Premier Doug Ford has backtracked on his promise to have the province issue work permits to asylum seekers, saying Monday that Ontario does not have the capacity to take over what he calls a “broken” federal system.
“We work for the federal government,” Ford told reporters at Queen’s Park. “We don’t want to take over the immigration system per se, we’re already spending over a billion dollars. Now they want us to throw another half a billion on our shoulders?”
The comments mark a reversal from Ford’s declaration last week that Ontario would use its constitutional powers to issue its own permits to asylum seekers in response to federal delays.