Montreal's Olympic Stadium no longer needed to lodge asylum seekers
The Big O had been open since the beginning of August to help house 'unprecedented' number of migrants
The temporary lodging set up to house asylum seekers inside the Big O is now closed.
Montreal's iconic Olympic Stadium was set up to house a surge of mostly-Haitian asylum seekers at the beginning of August.
In a statement, the CIUSSS West Central Montreal said initially, the temporary lodging in Olympic Stadium was set to close on Sept. 18, but due to waning numbers of asylum seekers and the quick departure of migrants lodged inside, it closed Tuesday — almost two weeks early.
As well, the Havre Providence de Boucherville will stop functioning as temporary housing for migrants on Wednesday.
The statement said even though numbers of people illegally crossing into Canada through the Quebec border seem to be decreasing, the health and social services network will maintain sufficient capacity to meet any new demand for accommodations.
More than 7,000 asylum seekers over summer
In what the RCMP called an "unprecedented" boom, more than 7,000 people illegally crossed into Canada since June 1, 2017.
Around 85 per cent of them were Haitian nationals, fleeing the United States out of fear their temporary protected status would be revoked, and they would be deported back to Haiti.
Federal and provincial departments boosted their resources to help deal with the influx. It's unclear how many of the asylum seekers will be allowed to stay, as Haitians do not have protected status in Canada.