A female asylum seeker was found waiting for hours in the cold to be allowed into a shelter in Mississauga, Ontario over the weekend, according to human rights activists who are calling for immediate action to address the increasing pressure on the already overcrowded shelter system in the
area.

Leaders of Canadian African groups are scheduled to speak about the death at a press conference in Mississauga on Friday.

Kizito Musabimana, Executive Director of the Rwandan Canadian Healing Centre, said the asylum seeker arrived at the shelter at 1767 Dundas Street at about 2 p.m. on Saturday and was forced to wait outside in the cold for nearly six hours before being allowed into the lobby around 8 p.m.

He explained that she spent the night there and collapsed in the lobby on Sunday, and was taken to the hospital shortly thereafter and died there shortly after 4:30 p.m., with the cause of death not released.

He explained that she spent the night there and collapsed in the lobby on Sunday, and was taken to the hospital shortly thereafter and died there shortly after 4:30 p.m., with the cause of death not released.

In a press release, the groups said the asylum seeker was a woman from Kenya, and last fall, another asylum seeker, a Nigerian man, died outside the same shelter.

A spokesperson for the Peel Region confirmed that the asylum seeker arrived at the shelter during the Family Day weekend to find there was no space, and died in the hospital after spending the night on the floor of the shelter lobby.