“Shocking”, “terrible”: the political reactions were quick on Friday, after the discovery of the bodies of six people Thursday afternoon in the St. Lawrence River, in the Akwesasne reserve which straddles Quebec, the Ontario and New York State. A tragedy that occurs only seven days after the closure of Roxham Road.
“The news from Akwesasne is heartbreaking. I contacted Grand Chief Abram Benedict to express our condolences. Pending further information, my thoughts go out to the relatives of the victims, ”said Federal Minister of Public Security Marco Mendicino on Twitter at the start of the day.
At the same time, he assured that the Mohawk police of Akwesasne will be assisted in particular by the Canadian Coast Guard in their investigation.
In Quebec, his counterpart François Bonnardel indicated in the morning that ” [ses] thoughts are with the community this morning”. “There is an ongoing investigation, we are still waiting for the details. The SQ is in support. We are monitoring the situation closely, ”he explained without giving further details. His cabinet also did not wish to go further at this stage of the investigation.
The immigration critic of Quebec solidaire, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, for his part spoke of “terrible news”, saying “wholeheartedly with the families of the victims”.
“I will follow the evolution of this file carefully, but remember that if we do not allow people to go through regular border crossings, they will continue to cross borders, by increasingly dangerous paths. These human tragedies can be avoided”, at the same time raised Mr. Cliche-Rivard, who was a lawyer specializing in immigration before being elected.
All this comes just seven days after the agreement reached last Friday between Ottawa and Washington to close the Roxham Road crossing, used by thousands of migrants to enter Canada irregularly to seek asylum. . The breach was closed the same evening at midnight, a situation that François Legault then described as a “very good victory” for Quebec.
Excavations will continue on Friday. According to information from Chief of Police Shawn Dulude transmitted to CBC, a child with a Canadian passport is among the victims. The nationality of the other deceased has not yet been established. It was an overturned boat that was first spotted by a helicopter, triggering the search operation. The gruesome discovery was made around 5 p.m. Thursday.
At the Parti Québécois, MP Joël Arseneau spoke on Friday of “sad news”. “Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. We will follow this situation closely. »
A reality in the region
At the end of January, the Mohawk police of Akwesasne had already received complaints concerning “suspicious individuals” in the village of Saint-Regis (Kana: takon). Officers then went to the site before locating four people identified as “foreign nationals”, who were subsequently transferred to Immigration Canada teams.
At the time, local police urged their community to “be aware of their surroundings, especially those who reside near a river system”.
“Persons involved in human smuggling attempted to use the shores of the St. Lawrence in the Kana: takon and Tsi Snaihne regions. Human trafficking is a crime; not only does this pose serious health and safety problems for the person or persons who commit the act, but it endangers the entire community of Akwesasne,” the police force insisted.
What’s more, in early March, an American smuggler received a five-year prison sentence for human trafficking after helping Indian nationals cross from Canada to the United States via the Saint-Laurent, in the same sector. In April 2022, this smuggler’s boat sank while on the St. Lawrence River, a tributary of the river. The nationals had to be rescued by the Mohawk Police Service.