Quebec Premier François Legault wants to take advantage of the Council of the Federation meeting to raise awareness among his provincial and territorial counterparts about the situation of asylum seekers.
Legault arrived in Halifax on Sunday for the three-day event that brings together Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial premiers. The council is chaired by Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston.
Mr Houston told reporters after a cabinet meeting last Thursday that premiers would focus on “key issues” such as affordability, housing and infrastructure.
But in a press scrum Monday morning, Premier Legault said he would address the situation of asylum seekers so that other provinces would put pressure on the federal government to reduce their number by half.
“Obviously, we would like to move them to other provinces. There are provinces that are open, others that are not. But basically, we have to reduce the number of people who are accepted,” he told reporters.
Mr. Legault said he had already started to discuss the subject with his colleagues on Sunday evening.
“There are some prime ministers who are somewhat open to looking at the possibility of transferring asylum seekers to their home countries, but it’s not easy,” he added, refusing to name the provinces in question.
Moreover, the Nova Scotia premier said last week that he also expected to have conversations about relations between the provinces and the federal government.
A statement from Newfoundland and Labrador’s executive council says premiers are expected to continue discussions on “revitalizing cooperative federalism” in Canada.