44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 28, 2022 02:00PM
- Sep/28/22 2:32:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I borrowed some lemons from the Governor General and have $150 worth of lemons in my glass.
More seriously, what is more humane: Welcoming tens of thousands of desperate asylum seekers knowing that most risk being deported after they have had time to make a life for themselves in Quebec, or investing an astronomical half a billion dollars in competent staff at the immigration department and sending claimants to a regular crossing and reducing processing times?
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- Sep/28/22 2:32:53 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we believe in the strength of our asylum and immigration systems. We are working closely with stakeholders on the border situation. We will always work closely with all of our partners to respect our national and international obligations towards asylum seekers.
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- Sep/28/22 2:44:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was clear that the Minister of Public Safety did not know the difference between an asylum seeker and a human smuggler. Let me explain it to him.
Asylum seekers are families who migrate to Canada to claim refugee status. Human smugglers are people who exploit these families and take all their money in exchange for getting them across Roxham Road. Human smugglers are criminals. Making the crossing at Roxham Road permanent makes their crime profitable.
Now that the minister understands who is who in this story, will he stand up for asylum seekers instead of human smugglers?
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- Sep/28/22 2:46:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we do not understand. We do not understand how the minister thinks that the situation at Roxham Road is normal. His government is letting thugs fleece disadvantaged families out of all the money they have managed to take out of their country. Thanks to his government's actions, human trafficking has become the primary way of claiming asylum in Canada in 2022. Refugees are being brought to Canada by thugs. They are welcomed into Canada by police.
What is normal about that?
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- Sep/28/22 3:02:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the purpose of the agreement with the United States is to protect asylum seekers' rights with a process that is transparent and fair and sets out legal consequences should the system be abused.
We are updating our agreement with the United States to strengthen our asylum system. That is the best way to proceed.
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- Sep/28/22 3:03:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the government is calling irregular entries are supposed to be irregular.
In Quebec, 98% of the asylum seekers who crossed a land border went through Roxham Road. There is nothing confusing about it. No one is coming through regular border crossings anymore. Looking at all the provinces and all the entires via land, sea and air, Roxham Road is the route used by 64% of asylum seekers in Canada.
Does the minister find it normal that, under his watch, irregular entry at Roxham Road has become the official and internationally recognized way to claim asylum in Canada?
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- Sep/28/22 3:03:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, our system for asylum seekers must be robust and humane. There really is no magic solution. Calling for the closure of Roxham Road or the suspension of the agreement would likely have the opposite effect.
As we have repeatedly stated, this agreement needs to be modernized. That is what we are doing by working with the United States on a lasting solution.
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