Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for asylum seekers: crossing illegally into the country doesn’t offer an advantage when it comes to obtaining refugee status in Canada.
“If I could directly speak to people seeking asylum, I’d like to remind them there’s no advantage,” Trudeau said at a news conference Sunday in Montreal.
“Our rules, our principles and our laws apply to everyone.”
Trudeau’s comments come as the government grapples with a surge in asylum seekers crossing into Quebec.
In the first two weeks of August, more than 3,800 people walked over the border into the province, compared to the 2,996 who crossed throughout all of July.
Speaking prior to Montreal’s Pride Parade, Trudeau stressed that anyone seeking refugee status will have to go through Canada’s “rigorous” screening process.
He said the government is managing the unprecedented flow of predominantly Haitian asylum seekers and that all of them will be subjected to the usual security checks and evaluations before obtaining refugee status in Canada.
Unlike in the United States, Haitians have no special status in Canada. About half of Haitians seeking refugee status in Canada have been denied in the last couple of years.
On Thursday, the federal government announced additional measures to deal with the influx of people.
Trudeau has faced criticism, notably from Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel, on his handling of the file.
In January, Trudeau tweeted “To those fleeing persecution, terror and war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength.”
“Trudeau needs to emphasize the point that many people who make asylum claims in Canada after doing so in the US will be turned away,” she wrote on Twitter.
2/ Trudeau needs to emphasize the point that many people who make asylum claims in Canada after doing so in the US will be turned away.
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