For Your Information
Premier Legault's Assistance in Closing Irregular Land and Waterways Border with U.S. in 2023
Demonstration in Montreal
against closure of Roxham Road border crossing in April 2023
Last year, Premier Legault's letter to the Prime Minister, dated February 19, 2023 was leaked to the press and two days later, on February 21, an opinion piece he contributed to the Globe and Mail was published, the former geared towards his Quebec audience and the latter to the rest of Canada.
One
month later, on March 24, 2023, the federal government announced the
re-negotiation of the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., which
both countries had been working on for over a year. The U.S. demanded
the closure of Canada's irregular land border and waterways, including
the safe passage for asylum seekers at Roxham Road, running between the
state of New York and Quebec's Eastern Townships. A “safe
third country” involves preventing asylum seekers who have
left their home country and transited a “third
country,” in this case Mexico, said to be
“safe,” from entering the country where they seek
asylum, in this case Canada or the U.S. The agreement and decision to
close Roxham Road took place during President Joe Biden's first
official visit to Canada.
Interestingly, many points in the two documents were similar,
such
as that since the fall of 2022, the rate of arrivals of asylum seekers,
mainly through Roxham Road, had exploded. This claim ignored that on
March 21, 2020, Canada closed its irregular border with the U.S. under
the pretext of the pandemic and only re-opened it on November 22, 2021.
As well, that Quebec had taken on a "completely disproportionate" share
of asylum seekers in Canada. Ditto for the Premier's assertion that the
situation raised several humanitarian considerations and that it was
becoming increasingly difficult to receive asylum seekers with dignity.
In
both texts, the Quebec Premier also asserted that the new arrivals
struggled in Quebec to find adequate housing and were more likely to
find themselves in a situation of homelessness. He declared that
community organizations working with them were at their "wits' end" and
that Quebec's public services were facing increased, unprecedented
pressures, particularly with regard to health, education and social
assistance, and that the pressure was unsustainable and could not
continue. Roxham Road, he concluded, would have to be closed one day or
another, "whether we like it or not." It was another example of
targeting asylum seekers and denying government responsibility for
housing and humane treatment of refugees.
Premier Legault's Letter to Prime Minister
His letter to the Prime Minister, directed towards his Quebec audience, informed that the weekend prior, the federal government had told Quebec that it would be redirecting asylum seekers to Ontario (while in actual fact it began this operation as early as the summer of 2022).
"You also apprised us of ongoing discussions with certain provinces regarding the transfer of a certain number of migrants," the document continued. Thanking his federal counterpart for these efforts, the Premier stressed the importance of this approach being maintained over time, as "tens of thousands of asylum seekers still in Quebec will continue to exert pressure on our public services for many months, even years, to come."
Premier Legault then raised his "serious concerns regarding the decline of the French language in Montreal" and how "the massive arrival in the Quebec metropolis... complicates our francization task and will demand considerable resources."
He requested that measures be taken, urgently and on a permanent basis, to apportion asylum seekers, upon arrival at the border, to other provinces and "that the federal government's temporary housing capacity on Quebec territory continue to be reduced."
He stressed the urgency of concluding the renegotiation of the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States and that it apply "to all points of entry into Canada, whether regular or irregular," linking this with ensuring that "Canada's territorial borders are respected," which he described as one of the Prime Minister's main responsibilities, requesting that he make this matter "a priority" during his upcoming meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
He then declared that Quebec expected full reimbursement for all expenses related to the reception and integration of asylum seekers for 2021 and 2022, informing that "over the past year, expenses have exploded and now amount to many hundreds of millions of dollars." One can see that all the same arguments are being made today and that no problem has been solved.
Premier's Opinion Piece in Globe and Mail
The article ascribed the Prime Minister's invitation to "all those fleeing persecution, terror and war" to come to Canada as the reason for the explosion in the number of asylum seekers.
"It was generous on the part of Mr. Trudeau," the Premier wrote, adding that his "good intentions turned into a real problem for Quebec and Canada."
As for the so-called pressure exerted on public services as a result, the Premier noted: "It's not mainly a question of money. The people working to receive and care for asylum seekers are limited. The number of new classes we can add to accommodate children, many of whom are distressed and traumatized, is limited, not to mention the shortage of teachers.
"Similarly, there is the scarcity of housing, which cannot be built in such a short time. As elsewhere in Canada," he continued, "the health care system is already fragile. It is therefore not a question of if we want to welcome asylum seekers, but if we have the ability to do so humanely.
"People must be able to find housing, children must be able to attend school and the sick must be able to receive treatment.
"We have therefore asked the federal government to settle new asylum seekers in other provinces that are capable of supporting them with dignity... in the coming months... while Quebec catches its breath.
"The federal government also has a responsibility to issue work permits to asylum seekers quickly. Currently, some have to wait two years before being able to work, which strongly affects their ability to live in dignity and contribute to their host society.
"Similarly, the processing times for refugee status applications are very long -- too long. The wave of migration is global and the federal government will have to adjust sooner or later. In the meantime, Mr. Trudeau should send the message loud and clear: would-be migrants shouldn't come via Roxham Road anymore.
"The basic problem is the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, which made it possible to open this breach in the border. Mr. Trudeau's government must conclude a new version of this agreement as soon as possible that applies to all points of entry into Canada, whether regular or irregular."
(February 19, 2023 letter from Premier Legault to Prime Minister Trudeau translated from the French original by TML. With files from Journal de Québec, Globe and Mail)
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 14 - February 28, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS541411.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca