Prime Minister François Legault said he was “happy” with the “closure” of Roxham Road starting Friday at midnight, under the announced agreement between Canada and the United States on asylum seekers.
Mr. Legault spoke of a “very nice victory” for Quebec, and thanked Justin Trudeau twice rather than once, during a press briefing in Montreal following the one held by the Prime Minister of Canada and the US President Joe Biden in Ottawa.
Mr. Legault praised the work of his ministers with Ottawa and Washington on this file, and also thanked President Biden. “We know that, with everything we are currently experiencing, in Russia, in China, it is more important than ever to have good relations with the United States. »
“You have before you a Prime Minister who is happy to know that tonight [vendredi] finally, at midnight, Roxham Road will be closed,” Mr. Legault told reporters.
The agreement between Ottawa and Washington will make the 8900 kilometers of their common border an official crossing and will lead to the refoulement of asylum seekers who cross it, in particular at Roxham Road.
“Obviously, the fact that we had 40,000 people on Roxham Road in the last year, I think it’s clear that even if there are still other people who will try to enter by other places, it is certain that we have just solved a large part of the problem”, said the Premier of Quebec, adding that “it is the responsibility of the federal government to ensure that the border is respected”.
Mr. Legault made a point of saying that the people of Quebec have always been welcoming, and that Quebec will continue to do its part and its “humanitarian duty”.
“We will continue to take our share of asylum seekers, people who are badly taken in their country, it is our humanitarian duty”, he added, while reiterating that the services in Quebec “are very stretched, too stretched, currently”.
“And besides, I want to take this opportunity to highlight the work that has been done by many stakeholders, whether in community groups, in schools, in hospitals, in municipalities, in social services of all sorts. I know that the last few months have been difficult, ”said Mr. Legault.
On the sidelines of the agreement, Canada is committed to welcoming an additional 15,000 migrants from the Western Hemisphere this year for humanitarian reasons and to offering them economic opportunities.
During his press briefing, Mr. Legault did not advance on this aspect, saying that he did not have much information, adding that given the large number of migrants who were received during the last year, “I think we did our part” and that there is “catching up to be done so that there are more in the other provinces”.
Rules “still far from being clear”
The agreement announced on Friday maintains the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). Under the bilateral treaty that Canada and the United States signed in 2004, a potential refugee presenting himself at an official Canadian border crossing and having first set foot on American soil is turned away since he must continue his asylum application. in the first “safe place” he arrived.
“Rather than canceling the Safe Third Country Agreement and allowing asylum seekers to pass safely through border crossings, the new agreement will instead likely create thousands of mini Roxham roads across the country, where people will end up entering all the same in precarious, dangerous conditions and being even more at the mercy of the smugglers”, argued in a written declaration the person in charge of Quebec solidaire in matters of Immigration, Andrés Fontecilla.
Mr. Fontecilla declared that the rules of application of this new agreement were “still far from being clear”, in particular with regard to “the period of 14 days to be intercepted”.
The new policy aimed at turning back migrants must apply to people who have crossed the Canada-US border outside official entry points, up to “14 days” after the irregular crossing.
“We also have a lot of questions about the 15,000 files that will be accepted: who will be chosen and according to what criteria? It is deplorable that no organization dedicated to the reception of asylum seekers or concerned citizen group was consulted on this agreement which will not solve the problem,” said the MP for QS.
Parti Québécois MP Pascal Bérubé, spokesperson for immigration, francization and integration, said on Twitter that the “closing of Roxham Road was necessary”. “It makes you wonder why we had to wait a year, a year during which the Government of Quebec was never informed, nor obviously consulted. It’s a bit embarrassing even if the result was needed, ”he added.