The shelters in cities across Canada were intended to serve local homeless people. However, in recent months, refugees have sought help at several centers in the capital, Ottawa, and officials fear that if the situation continues, the crisis that hundreds of refugees experienced in Toronto will soon resurface in Ottawa.

For his part, Peter Tilley, director of the Ottawa Mission, a shelter on Waller Street in the city, stated that 87 of the 228 people welcomed since June are "newcomers" (meaning people who have recently arrived in Canada, which is a broader definition than refugees and asylum seekers), most of whom are asylum seekers. This ratio is three or four times higher than it was in the past.

Tilley added that the influx of many asylum seekers makes their work extremely difficult.

People who have fled their home countries due to natural disasters or man-made disasters are collectively referred to as refugees, but in reality, their situations are not the same. Some people have been recognized as refugees by the United Nations or another country, while some are applying for refugee status. Among the applicants, there are those who have submitted their applications and are waiting, and those who entered the country through illegal channels and have not yet been able to apply. The latter group typically does not receive any assistance from the government.

Ottawa city figures also show that the number of adult asylum seekers accepted into the city's reception system nearly doubled from January to June of this year, from 121 to 222. However, the number of asylum seekers in family shelters has slightly decreased.

Tilley noted that shelters can only provide the most basic accommodation and food, and cannot offer additional services such as job placement, legal assistance, and housing, which refugees desperately need. Refugees lacking this assistance may end up in detention centers for long periods. He hopes that the federal government will do more to help.