Are you satisfied with the way Canada is handling the migrants coming over the U.S. border?
They've been trickling over the border into Canada steadily ever since U.S. President Trump started tightening up regulations on immigrants and refugees. Some say it's time to bring some order to what's happening. Others say open up the borders to those in need. What do you think?
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It's a dangerous, desperate journey.
They come seeking refuge, trudging for hours through wind, sub-zero temperatures, forests, farmers fields and unmarked country roads.
Hundreds of asylum seekers have entered Canada over the past few months. After trying to escape troubles in their home countries, they're now fleeing the United States and illegally crossing the world's largest undefended border hoping Canada offers a safe haven.
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What drives them to make this perilous journey in the dead of winter? Most say they're afraid, fearful that a crackdown on immigrants and refugees by President Donald Trump will mean deportation from the U.S.
Despite the spike in illegal crossings, it's worth remembering the numbers are still below historical highs. But the little town of Emerson, Man. has seen a fivefold increase. On the West Coast, the number has doubled. In Quebec, it's more than quadrupled. Some believe more will come this spring as soon as the weather warms.
Many blame a quirk of the law — the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement — for forcing people to take dangerous risks. The only way to claim refugee status, if someone arrives via the United States, is by sneaking in. What do you think? Should Canada suspend or withdraw from the Agreement and open the doors to more?
Others argue asylum-seekers could pose a threat to national security. As images spread of more people trekking across that vast border, do you worry Canada becomes more vulnerable?
The U.S. Homeland Security Secretary told Canadian officials Friday he's "perplexed" by the surge of would-be refugees coming North, and wants more data. What do you think of the Trudeau government's approach toward the Trump administration when it comes to the risky movement of migrants?
Our question: Are you satisfied with the way Canada is handling the migrants coming over the U.S. border?
Guests
Wayne Arseny, former Mayor of Emerson and retired Canadian Border Services superintendent
Julie Taub, Immigration and Refugee lawyer and former Member of the Immigration and Refugee Board
François Doré, a retired police officer who lives in Hemmingford, Quebec, less than a mile from the US border
Gloria Nafziger, Amnesty International Canada Refugee Coordinator
Jack Jedwab, President of the Association for Canadian Studies and co-chair of the National Metropolis Conference on Immigration and Integration.
What we're reading
CBC.ca
- Pregnant woman, toddler among 19 asylum seekers rescued after crossing border in storm (Mar. 8, 2017)
- UN concerned about plight of asylum seekers walking into Manitoba (Mar. 5, 2017)
- Federal ministers see the asylum seeker situation on the ground in Emerson, Man. (Mar. 5, 2017)
- Why refugees are sneaking in: How seeking asylum works in Canada (Feb. 9, 2017)
- Desperate journey (Feb. 9, 2017)
- 'We saw what happened in the airports': Asylum seekers from U.S. surge into Manitoba (Jan. 31, 2017)
- What happens to asylum seekers after they cross illegally into Quebec from the U.S.? (Feb. 13, 2017)
- Refugee claims at Canada-U.S. border have doubled over past 2 years (Feb. 17, 2017)
- Scrap safe country pact with U.S., advocates and professors urge Ottawa (Feb. 9, 2017)
- Ralph Goodale to raise illegal border crossings with U.S. officials in coming days (Feb. 25, 2017)
- Canadians aren't as accepting as we think — and we can't ignore it, writes Angus Reid (Oct. 4, 2016)
Globe and Mail
- Why are so many Hungarians deported? A look at Canada's 'Unwelcome Index' (Mar 12, 2017)
- Ottawa hasn't replied to request for aid to handle asylum seekers: Manitoba Premier (Mar. 9, 2017)
- Ottawa braces for rise in asylum seekers fleeing U.S. (Mar. 7, 2017)
- Canada and U.S. to join forces on handling border asylum-seekers (Mar. 1, 2017)
- Ottawa not convinced refugee surge constitutes a trend (Feb. 26, 2017)
- Canada's border agencies shift staff to deal with illegal crossings (Feb. 21, 2017)
- Sizable minority says Canada is accepting too many refugees: poll (Feb. 20, 2017)
- Influx of refugees fleeing U.S. is putting Ottawa to the test (Feb. 19, 2017)
- Lawyers urge Ottawa to make changes to Safe Third Country Agreement (Feb. 12, 2017)
- Quebec and Manitoba see influx of asylum seekers crossing U.S. border (Feb. 12, 2017)
- Asylum-seekers speak of dangerous voyage that led them to Canada (Feb. 14, 2017)
- How Canada can take Trump's refugees (Feb. 9, 2017)
National Post
- 'Not pretty out there': Nineteen asylum-seekers cross border in Manitoba blizzard with 80 km/h winds (Mar. 8, 2017)
- CBSA union president says border is like 'Swiss cheese,' calls for patrol force (Mar. 2, 2017)
- Michael Barutciski: Enough with this silly 'loophole' at the border. Mr. Trudeau, we need a clear policy, now (Mar. 2, 2017)
- A crisis is coming: If this many cross the U.S. border in February, how many will come by June? (Feb. 21, 2017)
- Liberal government 'testing the limits' of Canadians' attitudes to refugees: poll (Feb. 20, 2017)
- Canadians not so 'exceptional' when it comes to immigration and refugee views, new study finds (Feb. 7, 2017)
- Manitoba town's generosity is tested amid spike in asylum-seeking 'border jumpers' since Trump elected (Feb. 7, 2017)
- Trudeau should 'lift the cap' on refugee sponsorships in wake of Trump immigration order: protesters (Feb. 5, 2017)
- Herbert Grubel: Canada should not open its doors to the world (Oct. 1, 2015)
Maclean's Magazine
- Why some refugee claimants may have better odds in Canada (Mar. 6, 2017)
- Poll examines difference in attitudes on immigrants, refugees (Mar. 1, 2017)
- The new underground railroad (Feb. 3, 2017)
Toronto Star
- Refugee advocates worry Canada will push U.S. for border crackdown (Mar. 7, 2017)
- Canada's refugee acceptance rate highest in four years (Mar. 7, 2017)
PRI
Amnesty International