Legault calls on federal government to close crossing at Roxham Rd.

Quebec is asking the federal government to close the unofficial border crossing at Roxham Rd. in Hemmingford because the province says it can't handle the number of asylum seekers entering the country.

More than 100 refugee claimants are entering Quebec every day from the United States through a rural path connecting Canadian and American segments of the street, Premier François Legault told reporters Wednesday.

“It's unacceptable,” Legault said at the National Assembly. “It's impossible because we don't have the capacity.”

Legault's request comes a day after the Parti Québécois called for the road to be shut down.

The federal government takes 14 months to study an asylum claim and in the meantime, Quebec has to house and care for would-be refugees and school their children, Legault said, adding that if the current pace continues, Quebec will not have adequate housing for 36,000 new arrivals.

Refugee advocates, however, say they don't accept the premier's claim.

“What is Quebec's capacity for compassion? For justice? It's maybe not unlimited, but the capacity is there,” said Paul Clarke, interim executive director of Action Refugiés Montréal.

Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, said that many people who had crossed the border at Roxham Rd. found work in Quebec's long-term care homes during the pandemic.

“We not only have the capacity, but we also have the need, in fact, for more people,” she said.

The irregular border crossing at Roxham Rd. reopened in November after it was closed during the pandemic. Since the beginning of the year, the RCMP has intercepted 7,013 asylum seekers who have crossed irregularly into Quebec from the U.S. That number is up from 4,246 last year. In 2019, it was 16,000.

Legault said many of those who cross irregularly are ultimately sent home.

“A refugee is someone who is physically at risk in their country,” he said.

“But the majority are not refugees; eventually, when the file is analyzed, they are refused, returned back home.”

Clarke said it's not possible to determine which refugee claimants will be successful. “To say half of these people aren't going to make it, well, which half, Mr. Legault?”

Under the 2004 Canada-united States Safe Third Country Agreement, refugee claimants who enter Canada outside an official port of entry must be processed in Canada. Claimants who come through official entry points of entry, however, are sent back to the U.S.

Conservative MPS in Ottawa quickly supported closing Roxham Rd., and the Bloc Québécois once again demanded the government suspend the Safe Third Country Agreement, saying few of the migrants would learn French after coming into Canada.

In Quebec City, the opposition Liberal Party said it would be “inhuman” to close the access point now, as migrants would seek out other ways of crossing the border that could be riskier.

Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters Tuesday that a balance needs to be found.

“Resources have been provided for that particular issue at the border,” he said. “We are also in discussions with the U.S. to regulate the movements of any asylum seekers.”

Asked about the negotiations with the U.S. later on Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters “we will always continue to respect the principles of our immigration system. We have a rigorous system that will continue to do its work.”