By Rebel News | Created at 2024-11-23 00:31:06 | Updated at 2024-11-23 04:32:10
4 hours ago
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Conservative counterpart sparred Thursday in the House of Commons over the emergence of “Roxham Road 2.0.”
“Quebec is at a breaking point because of decisions by this bad actor,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said, pointing to Trudeau. “Last time Trump arrived at the White House, he opened a ‘welcome centre’ at Roxham Road.”
In 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to “welcome” all those “fleeing persecution, terror, and war” in response to President Donald Trump’s then deportation of illegal immigrants.
Poilievre said the careless message “brought tens of thousands of people, without housing, without jobs, without health care.”
“At some point, Trudeau has to send a new message,” claimed Québec Premier François Legault last January, noting the province has “thinly stretched” resources to accommodate more migrants.
The province had 597,140 non-permanent residents in the second quarter of 2024, compared to 295,147 in 2022, according to Statistics Canada data. The percentage of non-permanent residents in Canada has doubled from 3.3% to 6.6% over three years.
“We can’t afford to have a Roxham 2.0,” Legault said Tuesday, after announcing provincial police — the Sûreté du Québec — would start patrolling its border with the United States.
“Indeed, there is a real risk that ‘illegal’ Americans will rush to the Canadian and Quebec border in the coming weeks,” he told reporters, a response prompted by Trump’s promise to deport illegal immigrants upon his inauguration in January.
In Commons Thursday, Poilievre asked: “Is he [Trudeau] going to do exactly the opposite this time to avoid another crisis for Quebecers?” The prime minister responded: “Protecting our immigration system and our borders has always been top priority for this government.”
Under the Safe Third Country Agreement, asylum seekers in Canada or the U.S. could make their claim in the first country they enter. However, a loophole allowed those who entered Canada through an unofficial crossing to remain in the country without the immediate threat of deportation.
The prime minister closed that loophole last March but has yet to curb the flow that has since been diverted to airports.
The number of illegal immigrants currently living in Canada is unknown, but an estimated 500,000 people could be in the country without status, according to an April 24 briefing note titled Undocumented Migrants.
On November 6, Trudeau and his cabinet promised to protect Canada’s borders, having previously mocked Poilievre for similar concerns last year.
“Could somebody put up barricades and a big wall? Yes.” the prime minister mocked his Conservative counterpart. “If Pierre Poilievre wants to build a wall at Roxham Road,” he added, “someone could do that.”
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
