OTTAWA -- Ontario is renewing its demand that the federal government foot the entire bill for services provided to thousands of irregular border crossers who are seeking asylum in the province.
Lisa MacLeod, Ontario's minister of children, community and social services, says that bill amounts to $200 million so far.
That sum includes $74 million for temporary housing in Toronto, $90 million in social assistance and $20 million for school spaces for refugee claimants' children.
MacLeod says the Doug Ford government believes that managing the influx of border crossers is strictly a federal responsibility.
She says the Ontario government should not have to pay for a situation it did not create.
The federal government has offered the province $11 million to help defray the costs, but MacLeod says that's not acceptable.
