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Ontario is getting screwed by the feds big time when it comes to the massive costs associated with immigration and refugee cases.

From extra social housing costs to legal aid fees, Ontario is being short-changed by a federal government more interested in picking fights than paying for the services they are responsible for.

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The most recent example is a letter from federal attorney general David Lametti to his Ontario counterpart Doug Downey. Downey had written to the feds asking them to pay their fair share of the cost of legal aid cases involving immigration and refugee files.

Lametti’s response could be summed up as “get lost” with a finger wagging lecture added on for good measure.

Ontario’s beef with the federal government is pretty simple — the province takes in the bulk of immigration and refugee cases and many of the people behind those cases ended up seeking legal aid. Despite immigration and refugee issues being a federal responsibility, the feds are not funding that part of the equation the way they should be.