$400K FOR RESIDENTS OF ROXHAM ROAD

Compensation for coping with border crossers

• The federal government is planning to pay just over $400,000 to residents around a rural Quebec road where an influx of asylum seekers has been crossing the border illegally since 2017.

The lump-sum payments are meant to compensate those living near Roxham Road for the increase in traffic and noise levels related to the thousands of irregular asylum seekers who have entered Quebec at the unofficial crossing point in Saint-bernard-de-lacolle.

The federal government will make payments to 45 households, according to a document tabled in the House of Commons on Monday in response to a question from Conservative MP Ted Falk. Eight of those households will receive $25,000 each, as they are closest to the end of Roxham Road and the U.S. border. Another 15 households located slightly further away will receive $10,000 each, and 22 household s located along the thoroughfare leading to the nearest highway will receive $2,500 each, for a total payout of $405,000.

According to the document, the government has budgeted up to $485,000 for the compensation, in case other eligible households are identified. A spokesperson for Border Security Minister Bill Blair confirmed on Wednesday that the payment process isn’t yet complete.

Blair announced the payments last December, but didn’t say how many famil ies would be affected or how much the compensation would cost.

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“I’ve been there. I’ve spoken to the residents. I’ve seen the level of activity of the RCMP, the (Canada Border Services Agency) and other officials that has impacted what is otherwise a quiet, rural road,” he told reporters at the time.

Nearly 42,000 asylum-seekers have entered Canada from the U.S. between official ports of entry since 2017, and 96 per cent of those have come across at Roxham Road, placing the rural road at the centre of one of the most controversial issues this federal government has faced. However, the numbers are substantially lower so far this year than they were at this time last year — 800 irregular asylum seekers entered Quebec last month, compared to nearly 1,500 in February 2018.

Refugee claimants are entering Canada illegally between border crossings because of a loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement. The agreement states that asylum seekers must make their refugee claims in whichever country they enter first, Canada or the U.S.

Border officials can turn away would-be refugees if they try to enter Canada from the U.S. at regular ports of entry, but the agreement only applies to official border crossings. As a result, thousands of asylum claimants began entering Canada at Roxham Road in 2017, after the Trump administration announced its intention to end the temporary protected status it had granted Haitians after a massive earthquake in 2010. Last year, a new wave of Nigerian asylum claimants began crossing the border, after travelling to the U.S. on visitor visas.

The Trudeau government has faced heavy criticism from the Conservatives for its response to the issue, and in this week’s federal budget, the Liberals signalled a tougher approach to irregular asylum seekers, promising to prioritize the removal of irregular refugee claimants whose claims are denied.

Federal ministers have also for months been raising the Safe Third Country Agreement with U.S. officials, and Blair made clear earlier this week that he would like to update the agreement to allow Canada to deny entry to irregular asylum seekers.

Tuesday’s budget included nearly $1.2 billion over five years for a new border enforcement strategy and to speed up the processing of asylum claims and appeals. However, the budget did not include new money for Quebec or Ontario, which have both demanded that the federal government reimburse their costs related to asylum seekers. The Quebec government claims that Ottawa should pay the province $300 million to cover its costs.

In January, the federal government included nearly $115 million in new spending plans to reimburse temporary housing costs for the asylum seekers. “Ministers continue to engage with (Quebec) Premier (François) Legault and (Montreal) Mayor (Valérie) Plante to assist with immediate housing pressures, while ensuring the safety and security of our borders,” Blair’s spokesperson said Wednesday in an email.