PM needs to regain control of borders

The Liberal government is failing to show Canadians they’ve got the crisis at our southern border under control.

Months ago, at the beginning of the year, the Liberals were criticized for doing nothing to tackle the then-emerging crisis. Their main response was to lash out at their critics.

We now know the numbers of people crossing illegally into Canada, primarily through Manitoba and Quebec back then, were nothing compared to what’s happening now.

In Quebec, hundreds of people a day are now crossing. Social services in the province are overwhelmed such that last week the Olympic Stadium in Montreal was converted into a refugee centre, complete with rows of cots near the refreshment stands.

Canadians watch video clips online and on the television of people illegally streaming across the border. They don’t even have time to ask where the police are in all of this. That’s because the RCMP are right there — acting more as bellhops than our federal law enforcement agency that should be securing our borders.

This fiasco must come to an end. It undermines our trust in our immigration and refugee system. It sends a message to criminals and terrorists that Canada is an easy country to enter. It implies that our own very own government supports open borders.

An immigration department notice posted to Facebook on Saturday said they were aware that various apps in the U.S. were incorrectly sending word that Canada is encouraging people to flood the borders.

They clarify: “The Government of Canada discourages people from entering Canada outside of designated ports of entry as it can be dangerous and is a violation of the law.” But this is just a nameless departmental release. It lacks clout and won’t go viral. It’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who the world needs to hear form on this issue.

He still has yet to walk back his reckless #WelcometoCanada message that erroneously told the world we have open borders.

The longer Trudeau delays, the more it will just look like he doesn’t have control of our borders. If there is no voice of authority out there telling people to stop crossing into Canada illegally, then they won’t. Leadership on this issue is sorely lacking.