Canada and Ontario don’t have a refugee crisis. There’s been a significant increase in asylum seekers crossing over the U.S. border and claiming refugee status, but we’re a big country and we can handle the numbers involved.

Still, bungling and buck-passing by the federal and provincial governments risk turning this manageable problem into an actual crisis. If they don’t get their act together quickly, there’s a real possibility they may create a needless backlash against asylum seekers.

That’s what’s behind Toronto Mayor John Tory’s urgent appeal for help from Ottawa and Queen’s Park to deal with the influx of refugee claimants that is overwhelming the city’s shelter system and costing it tens of millions of dollars.

Tory has been raising the alarm for weeks now, and he’s right to press the city’s case with both levels of government — especially Ottawa, which has jurisdiction over policy on immigration and refugees.

The mayor has been careful to stress that Toronto “has always been a welcoming place for newcomers, especially those who come to our city in their time of need.”

But that doesn’t mean the city should be left alone to deal with the cost and organizational problems that come with a sudden and unplanned surge in asylum seekers.

As the city spelled out this week, there are now about 3,300 refugee claimants housed in Toronto’s already-strained shelter system. They take up 46 per cent of spaces (up from just 11 per cent 18 months ago). The city figures it will spend some $65 million on helping migrants by the end of this year.

Toronto needs support and money from higher levels of government to deal with all this. But so far it’s been left to cope on its own.

The Ontario government has been paralyzed for months by pre-election manoeuvring, the provincial campaign itself, and the transition to the new Ford government.

The federal government ought to take the lead on this issue, but it has been unaccountably dragging its heels.

In early June Ottawa promised $50 million to help provinces with the migrant issue, including $11 million for all of Ontario. But the city says it’s heard nothing about how and when that money will be delivered.

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen’s response to Tory has been all generalities. He says he has to funnel aid through Queen’s Park, and that means waiting for the new government to get in place. His officials, to make matters worse, have been carping about the way the city collects its statistics on asylum seekers.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking. About 800 migrants are housed temporarily in dormitories at two Toronto colleges, Centennial and Humber, but students start returning on Aug. 9 and the colleges will need the spaces back.

If Ottawa and Queen’s Park can’t figure out other places for them, Tory says the city will have to use its community centres. And if the public sees those centres being turned over to asylum seekers, with the loss of sports and recreational programs that would result, it would feed the perception that Torontonians are having this national problem dumped on them.

At that point the elements could well be in place for a popular backlash against migrants as a whole. Sadly, there are plenty of people ready to whip up such a reaction if politicians provide them with the right ingredients.

There’s no need for it to get to that point, if governments get together and work out a coordinated plan to make sure refugee claimants don’t all flock to Toronto, there are places for them to be decently housed, and the financial burden is shared fairly.

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The federal government was quick to act when Montreal raised the same issue. It made sure migrants moved on quickly from Quebec, where most of them arrive. That diverted many to Toronto — but there have been no follow-on services here.

Ottawa needs to start leading and stop using the change of government in Ontario as an excuse for inaction. Toronto cannot be expected to deal with the consequences and cost of this national issue on its own.

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