Roxham Road once again made headlines. Some advocate the closure of this crossing point and others, a complete closure of the border, physically or legally. But this is a false solution that does not address the real problem.
What is Roxham Road and who uses it?
In many countries around the world, people like us are forced into exile to keep themselves and their families safe. We all understood why Ukrainians had to flee their country. We welcomed them with open arms, offering them the possibility of obtaining a visa and therefore of coming safely, on board a commercial plane, rather than traveling dangerously and being at the mercy of smuggling networks. malicious. But Canada does not offer such visas to other vulnerable populations, and this forces them to take perilous paths to safety. Many people have to traverse jungles and roads where extortion, assault and rape are the norm, and death from starvation or exhaustion is common. Those who survive come to us via Roxham Road, an improvised crossing point between New York and Quebec, where they can file an asylum application in a more dignified and secure manner.
Since the signing of the safe third country agreement between Canada and the United States in 2004, people who seek our protection have been forced to cross the border outside a customs post in order to be able to request protection from Canadian authorities or Americans.
Customs officers then have to patrol the whole length of it to identify people and direct them to immigration services.
Since the summer of 2017, in a context of increasing forced migration around the world, Roxham Road has become a privileged crossing point. Faced with the growing number of requests, the federal government has structured reception at this location in order to optimize the process of identifying and registering people. The sooner this is done, the sooner the competent administrative court can examine their request, which will be refused if it is unfounded.
Quebec’s effort
Registering asylum claims at Roxham is therefore an efficient and beneficial approach for asylum seekers, the government and Canadian taxpayers. Quebec receives 65% of Canadian asylum applications, but 99% of asylum seekers intercepted by the RCMP between official ports of entry, for example at Roxham. Even if the federal government reimburses it in full for the costs incurred for its social services, community organizations are under great pressure and this week sounded the alarm, struggling to respond to requests for help from newcomers. The financial cost may be borne by all Canadians, but there is indeed a human effort provided disproportionately by Quebec and which needs to be better distributed.
False solutions
Some cry chaos and catastrophe. Rest assured, there is no “tsunami” or “explosion”. There are only a lot of people who need our help. But these alarmists imply that the people seeking asylum in Canada are too many, a burden, or a threat to our identity.
One hears of them proposing to “close Roxham”; but if we close this path, it will push people to go through even less organized approaches to the border, which will only increase the cost of the system and the death toll, as demonstrated by the tragic death of Fritznel Richard in December 2022 on this route.
Others propose to extend the agreement to irregular crossing points (even to countries other than the United States), in order to prevent any asylum request for all those who have passed through a “safe country”. Europeans adopted this system long ago, and it did not discourage migration, only caused many drowned in the Mediterranean. International law and our Charters oblige us anyway to hear the demands of those who come to us. As for “closing the whole border”, the costs of a wall or intensive patrolling of 8900 kilometers would be absurd.
Improving the law and processes
The realistic solution is to abolish, or at least suspend, the safe third country agreement. Asylum seekers could thus present themselves at regular border posts, as is already the case at airports. This would have the merit of improving security and efficiency, drying up the networks of smugglers and spontaneously distributing the arrivals between all the provinces.
In the absence of political courage to suspend the agreement, we must at least improve the arrival process. Many asylum seekers are destined for other provinces such as Ontario or British Columbia, but are stuck in Quebec to wait for one or more months for their work permit by mail. Instead, they should be sent their work permits electronically, as many countries already do.
A chance for Quebec
Moreover, far from representing an “invasion” or a threat to our identity, asylum seekers are only asking to integrate and actively contribute to our society. While we are suffering from a labor shortage, they were already present during the worst of the pandemic, and continue to support us wherever we are short of hands, even where working conditions are difficult. Provided that our bureaucracy issues them the appropriate permits promptly, of course.
And while English Canada is often much more attractive and they could move there as soon as they obtain their first documents, many people choose Quebec and its French language to start a new life.
Let’s give them this chance and this security: this is what is fair and humane, and we only risk enriching ourselves collectively.
In short, alarmist speeches have never helped to find sensible solutions, but encourage withdrawal into oneself and the rejection of others. We all have a responsibility in our speeches and in the choice of our words. If we judge a society by the way it treats the most vulnerable, it is high time to stop brandishing false problems based on our fears, and to think about real solutions to help these people who face real problems of security.
*Alexandre Néron, business owner; Alfredo Garcia, lawyer; Amélie Giurgiuca, Coordinator, Housing Education and Information Organization of Côte-des-Neiges; Andréanne Lemaire, Psychologist, CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS, General Services Department, Refugee Clinic; Andrew Leggett, student, Champlain College, Saint-Lambert; Angela Potvin, lawyer; Annabel Busbridge, lawyer and member of the CA AQAADI; Anne-Cécile Raphael, lawyer; Anne St-Pierre, nurse clinician and lecturer, University of Sherbrooke, faculty of medicine and health sciences; Annie Bélanger, lawyer; RadLaw Association, McGill University; Audrey Thibault, Assistant, Mental Health Program, Doctors of the World Canada; Aviva Basman, Lawyer and President, Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers; Carine Boulianne, nurse clinician, assistant to the immediate superior, Centralized Access Desk and Refugee Clinic, CIUSSS de l’Estrie CHUS; Bruno Hidalgo, Co-parenting worker, Pause Famille; Catherine Pappas, Executive Director of the Côte-Des-Neiges CDC; Claude Chupenga, Executive Director, International Center for Hope; Celeste Trianon, activist and law student University of Montreal; Chantal Ianniciello, lawyer and board member of AQAADI; Christian Tanguay, Adm.A., General Manager, LGBTQ+ Community Center of Montreal; Claire Launay, LQCNA President; Claude Chupenga, Founder and Managing Director, International Center for Hope (CIE); Coline Bellefleur, lawyer; Danielle Arpin, lawyer; Danielle Kouhio Depri, citizen; David Larrivee, Integration Advisor, ALAC; Dina Souleiman, Managing Director, Welcome Collective; Elizabeth Sheremetov, speaker (CANA); Eric Shragge, Chairman of the Board, Immigrant Workers Center; Eva Gracia-Turgeon, coordinator, Foyer du Monde; Fabienne Côté, social worker, Integrated University Health and Social Services Center of Estrie, Sherbrooke University Hospital Center; Fatima Beydoun, McGill University law student; Francois Crépeau, Full Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University; Garine Papazian-Zohrabian, Full Professor, Department of Educational Psychology and Andragogy, Faculty of Education, University of Montreal; Geneviève Bouchard, General Coordinator, Rosemont Children’s Oasis; Gilles Provencher, General Manager, Carrefour Solidarité Anjou; Guy Naphtali, Lawyer; Gwendolyn Muir, lawyer; Ian van Haren, Executive Director, Action Réfugiés Montréal; Isabelle Lessard, lecturer, intern in adult clinical psychology (Ph.D./RI) at the Psychological Intervention Center of the University of Sherbrooke (CIPUS) and at the Sherbrooke Refugee Clinic; Ismael Boudissa, lawyer; Janet Cleveland PhD, researcher at the SHERPA University Institute; Jasmine Lanthier-Brun, social worker, Refugee Clinic; Jean Francois Seguy, lawyer; Jenny Jeanes, detention program coordinator, Action Réfugiés Montréal; Jennifer-Lys Grenier, Coordinator, Migrant Justice Clinic; Jihane Chickhi, lawyer; Jouman El Asmar, lawyer; Karine Barrette, lawyer, in charge of the project Improving judicial practice to increase the safety of women victims of domestic violence, Regrouping of houses for women victims of domestic violence; Katherine Loudin, lawyer; Katia Bracamonte, Family Break Intervention Coordinator; Krishna Gagné, lawyer and member of the CA AQAADI; Laura Anson Perez, lecturer in the master’s degree in intercultural mediation, intern in psychology at the Refugee Clinics, Sherbrooke; Laurence Trempe, lawyer and member of the CA AQAADI; Leyda-Mellia Paulmier, lawyer; Luciano G. Del Negro, lawyer; Nilufar Sadeghi, Lawyer; Marie-Anne Arsenault-Tremblay, nurse; Refugee Clinic, CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS; Marie Claude Besré, social worker, OLO-SIPPE Program; Marie France Chassé, lawyer; Marissa Doucet, social worker, CLSC Saint Laurent; Maude Lambert Dion, BC Assistant Director of Home Childcare Au coeur de l’enfance; Martine Valois, lawyer and professor, University of Montreal; Martin Savard, Project Manager, Social Center for Helping Immigrants; Maryse Poisson, director of social initiatives, Welcome Collective; Myriam Harbec, lawyer; Odette Desjardins, immigration lawyer; Olga Houde, Coordinator, Just Solutions Legal Clinic; Patil Tutunjian, lawyer; Paula Kline, Executive Director, Montreal Community Mission & Camp Cosmos; Perla Abou Jaoudé, lawyer, member of the Board of AQAADI; Rezki, Director, Creca; Rose Ngo Ndjel, Director, Afirique au Féminin; Richard N. Goldman, attorney; Rita Acosta, Director, Against Rape; Ryan Faulkner, McGill University law student; Shi Tao Zhang, McGill University law student; Sophie Sylvie Gagné, coordinator, CDC Solidarité Villeray; Stephan Reichhold, Executive Director, Round Table of Organizations Serving Refugees and Immigrants; Virginie Beaubien, lawyer, member of the Board of AQAADI; Walid Ayadi, lawyer; William-Jacomo Beauchemin, general coordinator, researcher and mediator, Exeko; Yamilet Almeida, lawyer; Yasmina Benihoud, lawyer; Yves Bellavance, Coordinator, Montreal Coalition of Neighborhood Tables