Roxham Road must be ‘priority’ for PM at meeting with Biden: Quebec premier
Legault says province has taken in a disproportionate share of asylum seekers
Quebec’s premier is asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to make the flow of migrants across an irregular border crossing in southern Quebec a priority during a meeting next month with U.S. President Joe Biden.
In a letter to Trudeau dated Sunday, François Legault wrote that the federal government urgently needs to complete the renegotiation of an agreement with the United States that has pushed asylum seekers to enter Canada at the irregular border crossing, known as Roxham Road. Legault called for the renegotiated treaty to apply at all entry points.
“Roxham Road will have to be closed eventually, whether we like it or not,” Legault wrote. He said that as prime minister, Trudeau’s primary responsibility is to ensure that borders are respected. “Therefore, I am asking you to make this a priority subject during your upcoming meeting with the U.S. president, Mr. Biden.”
The Safe Third Country Agreement requires asylum seekers arriving in Canada or the U.S. to claim refugee status in the first country they arrive in and forbids them from claiming refugee status in the other. However, migrants who cross the border between official posts can claim asylum after they are intercepted by police as they are already on Canadian soil.
Legault said Quebec has taken in a disproportionate share of asylum seekers and the province’s social services and community organizations have been overwhelmed. He added that a growing number of migrants are finding themselves homeless.
“Quebec has a long tradition of welcoming refugees, and we are proud to contribute to this humanitarian duty. However, this influx cannot continue,” he wrote. “The capacity to receive refugees has been greatly exceeded.”
Federal statistics show that more than 39,000 people claimed asylum after they were intercepted by the RCMP crossing Canada’s land border into Quebec in 2022, compared with 369 in the rest of the country. In total, around 64 per cent of all asylum claims in Canada in 2022 were made in Quebec.
Legault said he’s also worried that the arrival of tens of thousands of migrants — many of whom don’t speak French — will impede efforts to stop the decline of the use of French in Montreal.