Liberals Failing to Address Illegal Border Crossings
October 5, 2017, OTTAWA – Today, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale briefed Members of Parliament on the Liberals’ response to illegal border crossings.
During the meeting, the Liberals:
– Admitted that they have not even approached the American administration to renegotiate the Safe Third County Agreement and close the loophole which allows people to make asylum claims after entering Canada through illegal points of entry;
– Were unable to assure committee members that Justin Trudeau’s bill C-59, which waters down existing public safety law, would not reduce the ability of the RCMP and CBSA to share information with IRCC and IRB officials when asylum claimants may pose a danger to public safety;
– Recognized that CBSA has failed to remove failed asylum claimants from Canada within their targeted timelines;
– Were unable to provide the committee with the number of failed asylum claimants for whom a deportation order has been issued, or the number of these people whose location is unaccounted for;
– Recognized the truthfulness of reports from frontline CBSA officers who flagged that the amount of time spent during the initial processing of illegal border crossers has been significantly reduced since the illegal border crossing crisis began this year.
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“Minister Hussen said his government has not discussed the loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States. The Liberals must explain why they have done nothing to close the loophole. It is unclear what proactive steps the government is actually taking on this serious issue,” said Michelle Rempel, Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship.
“It is extremely troubling that the amount of time that our law enforcement officials are spending reviewing asylum claims has been dramatically reduced in response to the flood of illegal border crossers,” said Glen Motz, Deputy Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. “It is also unacceptable that the Liberals don’t know how bill C-59 will affect public safety in this regard. It makes me wonder what shortcuts are being taken to expedite the entry of claimants into Canada, and what the impacts might be on public safety.”
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“It is clear the Liberal government has no concrete plan to deter illegal border crossings. Their inaction is costing millions of tax dollars and there is no end in sight,” said Larry Maguire, Member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. “Internal government documents have shown that thousands of additional claimants could soon be coming from the USA. When will the Liberals finally tell Canadians how they plan to address this problem?”
