QUESTION PERIOD — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Illegal Immigration
February 7, 2023
My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. I want to come back to the problem of Roxham Road, which is still very accessible, allowing for illegal border crossings into Canada and allowing unscrupulous smugglers to make money by extorting poor people. Despite the lofty promises your government has been making over and over again for over a year, stating that it is negotiating a new agreement with the Americans, we can only say that nothing has changed. Despite millions in questionable spending to obtain immigration advice from the McKinsey firm, nothing has changed.
On December 14, the Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, said that an agreement had been reached with the Americans. Two weeks ago, the Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser, said the opposite. Somebody is going to have to tell us the truth. I have some questions. Who’s telling the truth and who’s lying? Where do we stand?
I thank the honourable senator for his question. It is my understanding that the Government of Canada has been in regular contact with its U.S. counterparts for some time to discuss all issues related to the Safe Third Country Agreement. Based on the information I have, the discussions have been positive but have not concluded. The discussions are ongoing.
This morning, the Parliamentary Budget Officer appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance, of which I’m a member, and told us that he was unable to calculate how much your government is spending on welcoming immigrants because Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has classified that information as secret. The fact that the government is hiding the amount of this spending from Canadians only raises questions in my mind as to whether there’s something underhanded or improper happening here. To my knowledge, no state secrets are at stake. I’d like to know how your government justifies keeping this spending a secret.
Obviously, the situation at Roxham Road is having a financial impact, but there’s a much broader issue at play here. This also involves our international obligations to refugees and our commitment as a country with fundamental values, which means that those who come here are treated in an appropriate and humane manner. The Government of Canada is working with the Government of Quebec and also, as I said in response to your earlier question, the U.S. government in this regard to find a fair and equitable solution for everyone, including both Canadian taxpayers and those seeking asylum here in Canada.
Leader, let’s continue in the same vein of the question that Senator Dagenais raised about Roxham Road.
The Trudeau government has done nothing — absolutely nothing — to fix the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States and has presided over massive backlogs at the immigration department for people waiting patiently to come to Canada legally.
Last weekend, leader, the New York Post reported that U.S. National Guard soldiers have been distributing free bus tickets at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan to asylum seekers in order to take them to our border so they can illegally enter Canada at Roxham Road in your province and that of Senator Dagenais.
When did the Trudeau government learn that American authorities are giving free bus tickets to people seeking to cross into Canada at Roxham Road? If you don’t have the answer, please get it for us. Has your government raised that practice with the Biden Administration, and if not, why not?
Thank you for the question. I do not know the exact date at which point the government became aware of this practice. We all became aware of it only recently in the media. I will certainly make inquiries.
But, Senator Plett, I can assure you and every senator in this chamber, as I’ve done before, that the government has been working and continues to work with its counterparts in the Government of the United States in order to address the issue of illegal migration generally and the causes of that migration, which go beyond simply the Canada-U.S. border, as you well know.
In December, leader, the RCMP intercepted 4,689 people at Roxham Road. This is more than the total number of people who entered Canada at Roxham Road in all of 2021 combined. The situation is getting worse, yet the Trudeau government told Canadians last month not to expect a resolution to this when the Prime Minister meets with President Biden in March.
If you’re not going to fix the agreement with the Americans anytime soon, what exactly is the Trudeau government’s answer to Roxham Road, leader? Is it for the immigration department to keep giving taxpayer money to Liberal-friendly consultants at McKinsey?
There is a lot in that question. I’ll try to parse it out.
Canada’s relationship with the United States is a long-standing and important one, and issues between the two countries often take some time to work through — our interests do not always converge — but the relationship between this government and the administration of the United States is a strong one.
When the Prime Minister says not to necessarily expect a resolution, the Prime Minister is being transparent, honest and open with Canadians because, as those of us who have been in business and in politics understand, negotiation is not a one-way street but a two-way street. In that regard, the government continues to work with the United States.
The other point that I think is important to make, colleagues, is that the demonization of these illegal immigrants is somewhat unfortunate and misleading. If someone arrives in Canada through whatever means and claims refugee status, we have an international legal obligation to treat them and afford them due process, both under Canadian law and international law. The large expenditures that both the Province of Quebec and the Canadian government have made in order to make sure that those who arrive seeking refuge are treated humanely and properly are appropriate expenditures under the circumstances. That is not at all to belittle the burden on the Province of Quebec and the burden on our system with this large number of folks arriving.
The Government of Canada is working with the United States and it’s working with the Province of Quebec, and it will continue to work to find a proper solution to this problem.
