In fact, at the end of January, in a series of media interviews, the minister demanded that all federal states make their contribution to accepting asylum seekers. Roxham Road, basta! She had started, even if she herself had doubts about the expediency of closing it a few days later.
We’ll never know exactly what prompted federal authorities to do this, but one thing has changed in recent days: for the first time in a long time, the rest of Canada is taking serious interest in the Roxham Road issue – and the increase in numbers there identified transitions is worrying.
Since the beginning of the month, a brief survey of the main English-language newspapers shows that a good twenty articles have been devoted to him and that Justin Trudeau thinks it’s his cold.
On the editorial side, the Globe and Mail have been challenging the Canadian Prime Minister for the past few days. The headline: Justin Trudeau must stop dawdling on Roxham Road. This was the second editorial on the subject in two weeks. The authors of the text detail the limitations of the Safe Third Country Agreement and the reasons why the crossing has become so popular with migrants. Above all, they are calling on the Prime Minister to close the road, regardless of whether the Americans agree to renegotiate the deal or not.
Then it was the turn of the National Post on Wednesday to decide on a column-in-one criticizing Justin Trudeau for using the Roxham Road issue for partisan purposes. The daily newspaper had also published an editorial and opinion pieces in the same direction in the past few days.
Not to mention that the English-language counterpart of The Canadian Press dispatched a journalist to New York State to uncover the workings of the smuggling network operating there – an exercise in which the Quebec media had long ago engaged.
It is true that recent developments have fueled criticism. Learning that the city of New York pays for bus tickets for migrants bound for Canada, and that the latter sometimes do so with the complicity of American customs officials, is enough to irritate both Quebec and Canada. No state expects such behavior from an economic and political partner.
As one National Post columnist observed, imagine if the U.S. government found out that the city of Tijuana [au Mexique] Migrants busted to Arizona border to enter United States en masse. In her opinion, the case must be at the top of Mélanie Joly’s list of priorities, like any major diplomatic incident.
In short, François Legault and his government may not have had much to do with it, but they still got (part of) what they wanted: increasing the pressure on Justin Trudeau and the federal government. This in no way guarantees that the latter will receive a Safe Third Country Amendment from the United States, but still.
The convoluted statement of the week
The disappointment caused by the health transfer deal prompted a hilarious statement from François Legault.
Photo: Radio Canada
François Legault made a very odd statement this week to justify his failure to get more money from Ottawa as part of the health transfer negotiations.
In his opinion, Quebecers have not put enough pressure on the federal government to make it fully understand the importance of the issue. They also had the imprudence to vote for 35 Liberal MPs in the last federal election despite his warnings about Justin Trudeau.
However, his argument reflects the attitude his misfortune puts him in: shaky.
Visibly annoyed, the prime minister found himself in the inconvenient position of having to criticize the federal government for the inadequacy of its offer while at the same time defending Canadian federalism. The exercise was unconvincing, to say the least. What is François Legault’s vision of Canadian federalism? What means does he intend to use to increase his balance of power? Secret.
The prime minister is now inviting Quebecers to remember Justin Trudeau’s lack of generosity at the next federal election. We will see.
The taboo
A committee examines the basic salary of MPs.
Photo: The Canadian Press / Jacques Boissinot
After shelving the extensive report by the Independent Advisory Committee on working conditions and pensions for MPs in the National Assembly that had been drawn up a few years ago, the MPs decided to set up a new committee to examine their salaries.
The subject of the study is defined more precisely this time: instead of evaluating the total earnings of elected officials, this time we focus solely on their annual base salary, which amounts to $101,561. Already Québec solidaire opposes this idea, arguing that elected officials receive other forms of compensation and allowances that should be considered to get the full picture.
Whatever happens, we can already doubt whether the Committee’s recommendations will be followed up. This is not a good time to be discussing elected official compensation. The last report on this subject came just as Quebec was embarking on a period of austerity to bring public finances back into balance.
The new report is likely to come at a time when the cost of living is skyrocketing and Quebec is still in deficit. No, there’s never a good time.