Refugees from US pressuring Canada
CANADA: Canadian police have bolstered their presence at the Quebec border and border authorities have created a temporary refugee centre to process a growing number of asylum seekers crossing from the United States.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said yesterday it had converted an unused basement into a refugee claimant processing centre. The agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are reassigning staff from other locations in the province to handle rising demand.
The CBSA said the number of people making refugee claims at Quebec-US border crossings more than doubled from 2015 to 2016. Last month 452 people made claims in Quebec, compared with 137 in January 2016, it said.
The influx is straining police, federal government and community resources from the western prairie province of Manitoba, where people arrive frostbitten from hours walking in freezing conditions, to Quebec, where taxis drop asylum seekers off just metres from the border.
A Reuters reporter yesterday saw RCMP officers take in for questioning a family of four who had walked across the snowy gully dividing Roxham Rd in Champlain, New York, from Chemin Roxham in Hemmingford, Quebec.
‘‘Please explain to her that she’s in Canada,’’ one Canadian officer told another officer.
‘‘It’s touching, and we are not insensitive to that,’’ said Bryan Byrne, the RCMP’s Champlain Detachment commander. ‘‘Some of these people had a long journey. Some are not dressed for the climate here.’’
Asylum seekers cross illegally because Canada’s policy under the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement is to turn back refugees if they make claims at border crossings.
But as US President Donald Trump cracks down on illegal immigrants, Amnesty International and refugee advocacy groups are pressuring the Canadian government to abandon the agreement, arguing that the US is not a safe haven.
Montreal, Canada’s second most populous city, yesterday voted to declare itself a ‘‘sanctuary city’’, making it the fourth Canadian city to protect illegal immigrants and to provide services to them. – Reuters
Engine failure suspected
Catastrophic engine failure just after takeoff may have caused a charter plane carrying five people to crash into a Melbourne retail outlet and explode yesterday, police believe. Four American tourists on a golfing holiday and the pilot were on the Beechcraft Super King Air twinengine plane which crashed into DFO Essendon after departing nearby Essendon Airport for King Island. Police said there were two mayday calls, followed by possible catastrophic engine failure. Workers at the centre ran for their lives as the plane crashed and exploded in a ball of flames. Firefighters took over 90 minutes to control the blaze. Police said witnesses had been treated for shock and trauma. Freeways around the site were closed due to debris from the crash.
Arms sales hit record
Global arms sales over the past five years reached their highest level since 1990, with India continuing to be the world’s largest defence importer, a report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says. Between 2012 and 2016, India accounted for 13 per cent of global arms imports, followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, China and Algeria. From 2012-16, Saudi Arabia’s arms imports increased by 212 per cent compared with the previous five years, accounting for 8.2 per cent of global imports. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged US$250 billion to modernise his country’s ageing military equipment, from fighter jets to guns and submarines.
Cassidy has dementia
Former teen heartthrob and Partridge Family star David Cassidy says he is struggling with dementia. The 66-year-old has told People magazine his family has a history of the memory-ravaging disease and he had sensed ‘‘this was coming’’. He said he had decided to stop touring as a musician in order to focus on his health and ‘‘enjoy life’’. Cassidy’s admission comes after gossip website TMZ released a video of the 1970s teen idol apparently slurring his words, forgetting lyrics and almost falling off the stage during a concert in California on Sunday.