(Quebec) Prime Minister François Legault is pressuring the United States Ambassador to Canada and the Mayor of New York in hopes of stemming the flow of asylum seekers crossing Roxham Road.
Posted at 12:10 p.m
On Tuesday, he met with US Ambassador David Louis Cohen at his Quebec City office to tell him “of the urgency of amending the Safe Third Countries Agreement between Canada and the United States to include points entry like Roxham.”
According to this agreement, asylum seekers must seek protection in the first country they enter, namely Canada or the United States. However, only official border crossings are subject to this agreement. Those that are said to be irregular, like Roxham Road, are not.
Last year, 39,171 asylum seekers were intercepted on Roxham Road. A peak was reached in December with 4,689 interceptions, a 26% increase over the previous month.
Ottawa says it is continuing talks to change the deal but doesn’t expect a new deal to be reached when U.S. President Joe Biden visits in March.
After meeting Mr Legault, the United States Ambassador confirmed on Twitter that he had heard his message about the borders and the deal. “It’s good to see Prime Minister @francoislegault today and discuss areas of cooperation to advance Canada-US goals on clean energy, trade and our shared borders, including government advocacy. PM for amending Safe Third Countries Agreement,” he wrote.
François Legault also sent a message to New York Mayor Eric Adams urging him to stop helping migrants approach the Canadian border.
We learned last week that the city is offering free bus tickets to asylum seekers wanting to leave the megalopolis, including to Plattsburgh, 45km from the famous Roxham Road. The news, published in the New York Post on Monday, February 6, sent shock waves through Quebec.
“Any form of assistance to migrants crossing the border where it is strictly forbidden should cease immediately,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement also published in the New Yorkers tabloid on Monday.
“We understand that the situation of migrants in New York is very challenging, but the situation in Quebec and especially in Montreal is extremely difficult. Quebec has exceeded its absorption capacity and this is a major humanitarian issue. Quebec reiterates its call for the government of Canada to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement to put an end to this unsustainable situation. »
Mayor Adams defended himself in an interview with CNN to encourage migrants to go to Canada. The city only helps them to make their wish come true, he pleaded substantively.
According to the New York administration, more than 45,600 migrants have been admitted since the spring, a flow that has worried the city of 8.5 million people. Montreal welcomed about 50,000 people out of a population of 1.7 million last year.