Asylum influx not a trend, yet: minister
Crossings from U.S. being monitored
Canada’s immigration minister says he’s not yet convinced a recent increase in the number of asylum seekers crossing the border illegally from the United States constitutes a growing trend, despite concerns raised by Manitoba that the situation may be getting out of hand.
In the days and weeks that followed a move by President Donald Trump to ban travellers from seven Muslim-majority entering the U.S., Canada has seen an increase in the number of refugee claimants walking across the border to request asylum. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has expressed worries that those numbers could rise further as the weather becomes warmer, and has called on Ottawa to provide more help in dealing with the influx.
In an interview with CTV’s Question Period, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen said, for now, Ottawa is monitoring the situation, but added it’s still too early to say whether even more asylum seekers will continue walking over Canada’s doorstep.
Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, meanwhile, says officials are analyzing the influx, and that most of the asylum seekers intended to eventually end up in Canada, rather than the United States. But in an interview with Global’s The West Block, Goodale couldn’t say why people are choosing to cross illegally from the U.S. if their goal was always to end up on Canadian soil.
Meanwhile, schools across Canada are grappling with the uncertainty of U.S. travel restrictions and how that affects upcoming student trips across the border.
Jim Cambridge, superintendent of the Sooke School District in British Columbia, said there are a number of trips planned for sports, music and educational purposes in the coming months that are being reconsidered.
“The board is concerned some students may be stopped at the border, and if that’s the case, they want to examine whether or not they’ll support any trips to the States right now,” he said.
The Greater Essex County School Board in southwestern Ontario decided earlier this month to cancel a handful of trips over concerns of safety and equity.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board sent a letter to parents to confirm whether their children will participate in upcoming trips across the border to determine whether plans should go ahead.
Students in the Pembina Trails School Division in Winnipeg participate in many international trips, but superintendent Ted Fransen said a recent decision to cancel one, although rushed, was made easily. He said he knows principals, teachers and students within his diverse district all value inclusivity, and a boardwide rule isn’t necessary.
“I just can’t imagine that we would get a request from a school principal to approve a trip to the U.S. where students in the group wouldn’t be allowed to go,” he said.