Prime minister defends immigration
Accuses Conservatives of ‘fearmongering’ in wake of UN global agreement
OTTAWA— Warning against the “dangers of populism,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says using immigration as a wedge political issue puts Canada’s future at risk.
During a wide-ranging interview with The Canadian Press, Trudeau said he believes a broad Canadian consensus holds that immigration is good for the country, in the face of growing opposition to it in other places.
“The decision that the Conservatives have taken recently to, for example, go after the global compact on migration in a way that is deliberately and knowingly spreading falsehoods for short-term political gain and to drum up anxiety around immigration is irresponsible, is not the way we should be moving forward in a thoughtful way on one of the big issues that is facing our country,” Trudeau said.
The Liberal prime minister said he welcomes debate and discussion about immigration — as long as it sticks to meaningful areas of policy.
“But the fearmongering and the misinformation that is be- ing deliberately and knowingly put out by the Conservative party right now, is very dangerous to something that has been an extraordinary advantage and benefit for Canada for generations,” he said.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s press secretary, Brock Harrison, said Trudeau’s comments demonstrate that he is failing to take responsibility for Canadians’ concerns about the border.
“He resorts to personal attacks and phoney arguments whenever he’s criticized for it,” Harrison said. “Conservatives will continue to hold him to account over the lengthy delays in processing and billions in added costs caused by his failure to secure the border.”
Last week, Canada joined 164 countries in signing the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Scheer came out strongly against the compact, arguing that it would give foreign entities influence over Canada’s immigration system, claims that have been rejected by many immigration-law experts.
The Conservatives have also been hammering the Liberals over the influx of asylum seekers crossing into Canada “irregularly,” away from official entry points. More than 38,000 irregular migrants have arrived in Canada since early 2017.