Preparing for a border crisis is job one

They come through forests and farmers fields, in Quebec, Manitoba and the Prairies. Sometimes alone, sometimes with children and luggage, migrants are crossing into Canada from the United States. This isn’t unprecedented, or even particularly rare: there’s always been a slow trickle of would-be refugees and asylum-seekers slipping over the border. But hundreds have crossed already in 2017, at a rate far in excess of what we’ve seen in recent years.

Every migrant would have their own story, their own explanation of why they came. So far, it seems that they are running from fears there will be a crackdown on refugees and migrants under U.S. President Donald Trump. Or a ramping-up of deportations for illegal immigrants. Some of them may simply be seeking a more comfortable life in a country that has lately loudly advertised itself as a kinder, gentler analogue to its larger neighbour to the south. In any event, they are coming, and local jurisdictions are struggling to cope.

More police and border guards have been sent to remote areas well away from official crossing points. Small border communities, often little more than hubs for local farms, are having to establish shelters for those who arrive with only what they can carry. Private citizens are awakened by migrants knocking on their doors, asking if they’re in Canada and if they can come in out of the cold.

This is not a crisis, yet. It seems to be currently straddling a position somewhere between an inconvenience and a novelty, at least for those whose fields aren’t now transit corridors. But this is also happening in the dead of winter. The crossing will only get easier and more tempting as spring arrives and the weather warms. The trickle may turn into a flood.

There’s a small chance the currently hazy future of so many non-citizens living in the U.S. might clear up before then, convincing the thousands, or hundreds of thousands, who might now be pondering a northern exodus that it’s safe to stay where they are. But for the first time in generations, there is a real possibility of a genuine crisis on our undefended border with the United States. This is something the federal government must be preparing for. The sooner, the better.

Preparedness and the preservation of public order is the most fundamental mandate of any government. Canada, for almost 150 years now a land of peace and plenty with a powerful and friendly neighbour, has had the luxury of not worrying much about that. We take stability and peace so utterly for granted that we often think of government now as merely a somewhat inefficient but mostly harmless redistributor of wealth and provider of certain public services (and many of them we could just as easily live without).

But maintaining the integrity of our borders and protecting the safety of everyone, including those crossing our frontier, is not just a moral and legal obligation. It is literally what governments, in free societies, exist to do. This is Job One.

To that end, we have some questions for the federal government. Does Canada have enough border guards to patrol our frontier while also staffing our official border crossings? Do we have enough police to intercept those crossing the border illegally while also maintaining normal patrols? Because although Canada treats those entering illegally humanely, and provides them a fair asylum hearing, sneaking in is still illegal, and the migrants are typically released into the public until their hearing date.

Are there enough personnel to convene and adjudicate the review hearings in a reasonably timely manner? Do frontline personnel, both customs and police officers, have the tools and equipment to do a reasonable job monitoring Canada’s enormous and undefended land border?

The federal government seems not to yet have answers to all these questions. Indeed, the Liberals have been largely silent about any responses to the growing migrant numbers, satisfied so far with the boost this new phenomenon provides to their welcoming and inclusive political brand. That’s forgivable to a point: this is an unforeseen and surprising situation. But it is not likely sustainable. At the very least, it is imperative Ottawa be asking itself these questions, and moving with determination and speed to address any gaps — we suspect there are more than a few — that these questions expose.

This is not about slamming the door to would-be refugees. We are a country of our word and those arriving in Canada outside of normal crossing points are entitled to a hearing and humane treatment in the interim (an agreement between Canada and the U.S. means that migrants arriving at official crossing points can be returned directly to the U.S., which is why migrants are crossing through fields and forests — perhaps something else the government must address).

But Canada owes everyone, including its own citizens and migrants, a proper and professional response to unsanctioned border crossings. After generations of peace and calm on the U.S. frontier, and successive governments that have taken matters of security and border control less seriously than they ought to have, it remains to be seen whether we are in a position to meet that basic, essential obligation.