UN keeping watch

OTTAWA— The United Nations refugee agency is keeping a careful eye on the situation at informal crossings along the Canada-U.S. border where dozens of people have been arriving in recent weeks in search of asylum.

But it’s the perception of what’s happening rather than the reality that troubles Jean-Nicolas Beuze, the agency’s representative in Ottawa, who spent a day this week observing people making their way through one such crossing in Quebec. He said police and border guards followed appropriate laws and showed compassion for those crossing the border.

Nonetheless, there’s a risk that a false public narrative could form around whether Canada has the capacity to deal with an influx of new refugees, he warned.

“Perception sometimes becomes the reality and what we will not want is that it increases the fatigue of people, the sense they are shouldering the misery of the world.”