Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated Monday the importance of having an “orderly” immigration system, in the wake of the deaths of eight migrants, including two children, whose bodies were found last week in the waters of the St. Lawrence River at Akwesasne.
In March, Canada renegotiated the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States to apply to the entire Canada-US border. The objective was thus to turn back migrants who were passing through irregular routes such as Roxham Road.
Migrant rights groups have warned, however, that the new rules will push people to take even greater risks to cross the border, using smugglers, among other things.
A week later, the bodies of the eight migrants were fished out of the St. Lawrence River. The members of two families, one of Romanian origin and the other of Indian origin, were then trying to enter the United States by boat from Canada.
Passing through Val-d’Or on Monday, Mr. Trudeau recalled that Canada is welcoming more immigrants than ever, but that it must be done “responsibly” to prevent people from putting themselves in danger.
According to him, Canadians cannot trust a system where people take serious risks and hire “criminals” to help them cross the border.
To see in video