Mold causes the closure of the RCMP office in Lacolle

((Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle) ) The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers responsible for monitoring the border in the area of ​​Roxham Road in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle have just lost their offices for a few weeks, due to mold contamination, just as they face an explosion in the number of irregular border crossings by migrants wishing to enter Canada.

“We have closed a building of the Champlain Border Police Integrated Team as a preventive measure, after the presence of mold was confirmed, likely caused by water infiltration,” confirms Corporal Tasha Adams, spokesperson for the the RCMP.

“Only part of the building is affected, but in order to take no risks, the office will be closed completely for the next few weeks,” said the spokesperson.

The building, which had to be evacuated by the police, is rented to businessman Pierre Guay, who owns lots of land all around the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border post. Mr. Guay’s company acquired the building for $225,000 and the rent paid by the tenant at the time was $29,000 per year.

Reached by phone by The Press Tuesday, Mr. Guay preferred not to discuss the problem of mold in his building. “Not aware, and I have no comment,” he dropped.

The police will temporarily work in nearby trailers, while decontamination work takes place in the building located on Ridge Road, near the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing. When passing from The Press Tuesday, the workers were already at work.

“We are putting all the necessary measures in place to ensure the continuity of operations. The health and safety of employees is a top priority and please know that we take any potential risk in the workplace seriously,” says Corporal Adams.

Paying for Mr. Guay

The police officers working in this team have the particular task of apprehending migrants who cross the border outside the official entry points, in particular in the area of ​​Roxham Road, where the flow of entries has exploded this year.

The Press recently reported that after a lull in 2020 and 2021, due to pandemic-related measures, the flow gradually increased throughout 2022, from just over 2,000 people per month to over 3,500 per month during the summer. In all, 23,358 people were intercepted by the RCMP between January and August, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). That’s more, in eight months, than the full-year totals recorded in 2018 and 2019.

The unprecedented influx of asylum seekers, police, border services officers and federal officials responsible for managing crowds in the Roxham Road area has paid off for Mr. Guay since 2017. In October, the government revealed that more than $28 million was paid to Mr. Guay, without a call for tenders, in rental fees and to improve the facilities used by civil servants and migrants in this sector.

With the collaboration of Daniel Renaud