Closing an informal border crossing in southern Quebec will not delay the arrival of asylum seekers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.
“When we close Locam Street, people will cross other places,” he told reporters in Ottawa. “We have huge borders and we have no intention of arming or installing fences.”
On Wednesday, Quebec’s Prime Minister François Legault called on Trudeau to close a temporary crossroads in southern Montreal, saying the state was incapable of caring for migrants while waiting for refugee claims to be processed. ..
Trudeau will be able to conduct security verifications by Canadian authorities to prevent immigrants from being “lost and illegal in Canada” by intercepting irregular immigrants on Lokham Road, where RCMP posts are located. He said he could.
Negotiations with the United States are underway, according to Trudeau, by changing a secure third-country agreement, causing irregular crossings.
Under the agreement signed since 2004, asylum seekers entering the United States must claim refugee status there, attempting to cross the official border into Canada to claim refugee status. Then you can turn back. However, asylum seekers who cross the border irregularly can apply for refugee status upon arrival in Canada.
Trudeau said talks with the United States to change the deal are “on track”, but the subject is subtle to Americans as they are concerned about the impact of the change on the Mexican border. He added that.
According to data on Canadian immigrant refugees and citizenship, RCMP intercepted 7,013 asylum seekers who had irregularly crossed from the United States to Quebec since the beginning of the year. In 2019, more than 16,000 asylum seekers were intercepted by the RCMP after an irregular trip to Quebec.
By Émilie Bergeron
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