Some Canadian premiers are rejecting Trudeau government plans to send more asylum-seekers to their provinces, but immigration minister Marc Miller promises to use any available "levers" to ensure co-operation.
Liberal gov. threatens uncooperative provinces with forced asylum seeker relocation plan | True North | Clayton DeMaine:
September 12, 2024 - "Immigration Minister Marc Miller threatened to use any available 'levers' against provinces that don’t comply with a proposed plan to relocate asylum seekers originally destined for Quebec and Ontario to provinces with a lower ratio of refugee claimants to its population. According to a Liberal government briefing document obtained by True North, the proposed plan would have provinces take in a 'proportionate share' of the asylum claimant population. It outlines a quota for each province to accept based on a proportion of each province’s current population.... Quebec and Ontario are currently the most popular destinations for asylum seekers to Canada....
"According to the document using Statistics Canada reports from June 30, 2024, 453,302 individuals are seeking or have been granted asylum in Canada. The briefing said 235,825 asylum claims are currently open where a decision has not been rendered. If each were accepted, the plan would have Ontario take in 91,972 asylum seekers, ... down from the 105,926 they would take in otherwise.... Quebec would take in ... 51,882 new potential asylum seekers, down from 99,726 ... a reduction of 47,671 new asylum seekers.... This week, the Bloc Quebecois positioned itself to form a coalition with the Liberal government keeping them in power. One of its demands is that the government reduce immigration to Quebec.
"British Columbia could take in 32,544 new asylum seekers if their claims were accepted. Before the plan, B.C. was positioned to take 11,421 new refugee claimants to the province.... Premier Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick fought back against the government’s plan, which outlined an increase of more than ten times the number of claims the province currently has. Instead of 384 refugee claims, the province would take in 4,568 new asylum seekers if their claims were accepted....
"As reported by the National Post, Miller told reporters on Wednesday that the government would use its levers against uncooperative provinces. 'There’s only so far the federal government can actually be nice and say "please, please,"' Miller said. 'We also have levers that we need to pull and push.'
Read more: https://tnc.news/2024/09/12/liberal-gov-threatens-forced-asylumseeker-relocation/
Asylum seeker claims in Canada reach record high | Global News | July 23, 2024:
Provincial leaders shut doors on Ottawa’s plan to relocate asylum seekers | True North | Isaac Lamoreuz:
September 13, 2024 - "The first premier to strike down the idea was New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs. 'Yesterday, provincial officials were invited to a conference call in which it was shared by federal officials in Ottawa that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government is considering a plan to send 4,600 asylum seekers to New Brunswick without providing any financial assistance,' said Higgs. 'We are calling on the Liberal government to drop this plan'.... According to a Liberal government briefing document obtained by True North, there are 235,825 asylum claimants where a decision has yet to be rendered. If each claim was accepted under the proposed redistribution, asylum claimants in New Brunswick would rise from 384 to 4,568, an increase of nearly 12-fold.
"An even bigger increase would be seen in Nova Scotia, whose asylum claimants would increase from 397 to 5,734, a more than 14-fold increase. Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston followed by saying that the province does not have the capacity to absorb thousands of asylum seekers. 'Nova Scotians are caring, compassionate people, but we will not be taken advantage of by the federal government,” said Houston. “We cannot let the failure of federal policies derail our plan, and we have communicated to Trudeau’s cabinet that any attempt to ship asylum seekers to Nova Scotia will be challenged.'
"Alberta Premier Danielle Smith did not mince words in her own statement on the matter. 'Section 95 of the constitution is clear – immigration is an area of shared authority between the federal government and the provinces. Yet, the Trudeau Government’s unrestrained open border policies permitting well over a million newcomers each year into Canada is causing significant challenges, and it’s simply not sustainable,' said Smith. She added that while Alberta represents 11.8% of Canada’s population, it currently supports around 22% of Ukrainian evacuees.... 'We are informing the Government of Canada that until further notice, Alberta is not open to having these additional asylum seekers settled in our province. We simply cannot afford it,' said Smith....
"Conservative Party of BC Leader John Rustad chimed in and expressed his dismay with Trudeau’s proposal. 'We are a welcoming province, but Trudeau’s failure to provide the necessary resources is a betrayal of both the newcomers and the communities already struggling to make ends meet,' said Rustad. 'The federal government needs to step up, provide the support necessary, and address the backlog of asylum claims that their failed policies have created.'"
Read more: https://tnc.news/2024/09/13/provincial-leaders-shut-doors-asylum-seekers/
No comments:
Post a Comment