The refugees in Burnaby are getting affected due to housing crunch.

According to the latest numbers from Immigrant Services Society of B.C., Burnaby is the least preferred destination for the government-assisted refugees. This is mainly due to the fact that there is a huge shortage of low-coat housing facilities in Burnaby and thus, tourists are forced to find home at some other place. The society’s director of settlement services also blamed lack of affordable housing at nearby places for the change. He said that the problem that we are facing in Burnaby is very challenging.

It should be noted that during the years from 2003 to 2006, Burnaby used to be the first choice for the government-assisted refugees. Later, this spring, Burnaby slipped to the second place, in the priority list for the refugees, making way for Surrey to acquire the first place. At present, Burnaby is at the fifth position, the first four being, Surrey, the Tri-Cities, Langley and Vancouver.

The fact is that once the houses having low prices are filled, the tenants are not willing to move away in order to keep their home rent under check. Friesen said that less number of family are moving in comparison to the past and this is mainly because of the tight market. He further adds that it is very difficult to find a house that will cost you less.

Those refugees, who arrive in Canada after getting the approval as refugees by the United Nations are known as Government-Assisted refugees. They get facilities like money and easy loan by the government and also get assistance in settlement from the Immigrant Services Society of B.C.

Friesen says that most of the government-assisted refugees are dependent on the income assistance provided by the government. A single person gets $375 as maximum amount per month for shelter and $235 per month for living expenses. In addition to this, families also get a sum of $123.50 for every child.