Mr Trudeau had these words about asylum seekers coming into Canada via Roxham in Quebec and said that we will continue our work, then maybe we have something to announce.
We have been working closely with the Americans for several months to restore the situation at Roxham Road and [qu’on] Look at the Safe Third Countries Agreement,” Trudeau said, prompting a flurry of questions from reporters around him.
Prime Minister Trudeau recently said that Mr Biden was well aware that renegotiating the Safe Third Countries Agreement (STCA) was a priority for Ottawa. The Liberal leader even spoke of a shared priority on border issues.
Just a month ago, US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen said renegotiating the Safe Third Countries Agreement was not a priority for President Biden’s administration. Roxham Road is a symptom and rather we need to attack the root cause of the problem, he said.
Poilievre says Justin Trudeau is stepping down
It really is Justin Trudeau who has the opportunity to shut down Roxham Road. He should, Canadian Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre commented earlier on Wednesday.
“He’s the one pointing out that it’s Joe Biden’s responsibility to protect our borders. I believe it is the Prime Minister of Canada who must protect Canadians’ borders. »
— A quote from Pierre Poilievre, leader of Canada’s Conservative Party
And as Prime Minister, he added, I would take responsibility for our own borders and put an end to the mass illegal immigration we are now witnessing.
In doing so, Mr. Poilievre would respond positively to a long-standing call from the Quebec government for Ottawa to close Roxham Road in Montérégie, where a record 39,171 asylum seekers were intercepted in 2022.
A longstanding request from Quebec
An open letter from Quebec Premier Francois Legault, published in The Globe and Mail last winter, aimed to increase pressure on Mr. Trudeau. Mr. Legault claims that the province does not have the capacity to adequately accommodate all of these people and that Ottawa needs to help him financially.
This letter followed an initial letter sent to the Prime Minister of Canada a few days earlier.
Quebec’s request had challenged the mayors of Windsor, Cornwall and Niagara Falls, where asylum seekers have been transferred since last summer. They are demanding more federal clarity on Roxham Road migrants and millions of dollars in funding.
This is the Democrat-elect’s first official visit to the country since his election in 2020. He will be in Canada on March 23-24.