CORNWALL, Ont. -- Local politicians say they're reassured after meeting Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale on Wednesday to discuss plans to deal with an influx of asylum-seekers from Haiti.
The tented camp being erected by the Canadian Forces neared completion Wednesday and will soon be able to house up to 500 people on the grounds of the Nav Centre, a privately run, 28-hectare conference centre.
Goodale toured the temporary housing site before meeting the mayor and councillors.
Coun. Bernadette Clement said the meeting between Goodale and municipal and provincial officials lasted about an hour.
Earlier this week, local politicians said they were concerned about a lack of information from the federal government about a plan to house hundreds of border crossers in a tent city here while their asylum claims are processed.
Goodale promised the government would establish a point of contact for the municipality to keep local residents informed, Clement said.
She said the minister's answers left local leaders comfortable with what is happening.
"He didn't rush," she said of Goodale. "He took questions. He made us feel more comfortable about the process and the fact co-ordination is going to continue to take place."
The local politicians wanted know which government department was in charge of the operation and while Goodale didn't have a firm answer, Clement said she "got the sense" that it would be Public Safety.
An earlier meeting was told that the tent city is an interim solution until winter begins to set in.
The government will use the facility as a processing centre to ease the strain from the nearly 7,000 people -- mainly Haitians -- who have crossed the Quebec-New York state border in the last six weeks
The exodus began after the Trump administration said it may end "temporary protected status" for Haitians in the U.S. which was granted following their country's massive 2010 earthquake.
About 30 of the 294 Haitians who initially arrived at the Cornwall centre have left since Monday after filing their initial asylum claims. They have either resettled in this eastern Ontario community or gone to Montreal, said Lt. Karyn Mazurek, a Canadian Forces spokeswoman.
Officials say more Haitians will be routed through Cornwall from Quebec for processing.
Coun. Elaine MacDonald, who was also at the Goodale meeting, said the focus is now on "getting the structures in place, getting the facilities up and running, getting that tent (city) ready because there could be people coming to it this weekend."
The outdoor camp that awaits them is all but ready, pending a final safety inspection, said Mazurek.
The tents have been set up with lighting, flooring, tables, benches fire and carbon monoxide detectors. Outdoor lighting is also in place to illuminate the green rows of tents.
"The camp is basically there," she said.
