WASHINGTON — Canada’s ambassador to the United States says President Joe Biden’s administration is not immediately ruling out the idea of renegotiating the 2004 bilateral treaty that governs the flow of asylum seekers at the Canadian border. -American.
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman said in an interview with The Canadian Press that the US administration understands the impact of the Safe Third Country Agreement on the flow of migrants at the border separating the United States from Canada. Ms Hillman adds that since these migrants travel in both directions, it would be in the interests of both countries to take steps to discourage potential refugees from crossing the border undetected.
The Safe Third Country Agreement, signed in 2002 and implemented in 2004, requires asylum seekers to make their claim in the first country they arrive in, allowing customs officials to divert them from ports of entry officials separating the two countries.
However, the agreement does not cover claims made by migrants who manage to enter either country between official crossings, such as Roxham Road in Quebec, the busiest unofficial entry point. in Canada.
More than 39,000 claims were filed in 2022 by people intercepted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the vast majority of them in Quebec, prompting Quebec Premier François Legault to specifically request the Prime Minister’s assistance. Justin Trudeau.
The latter has acknowledged that the best solution is to renegotiate the treaty, but so far the United States has been widely seen as having no interest in doing so.
The White House and Prime Minister Trudeau’s office have both acknowledged that irregular migration will be on the agenda for discussions this week, as part of President Biden’s first official visit to Canada since taking office. in January 2021.
