The Premier of Quebec asked the Mayor of New York that it immediately cease sending migrants in the direction of Roxham Road. Meanwhile, almost all of the asylum seekers who crossed there last weekend have been redirected to other provinces.
• Read also: Where do the Roxham Road migrants come from?
“Any form of assistance to migrants crossing the border at a place where it is strictly forbidden to do so should cease immediately,” said François Legault in writing.
Last week, the office of New York Mayor Eric Adams and the US National Guard confirmed helping migrants travel by bus from New York to other US cities, including Plattsburgh where migrants take taxis to proceed to Roxham Road.
“We understand that the situation of migrants in New York poses major challenges, but the situation in Quebec, and particularly in Montreal, is excessively difficult,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister met with US Ambassador David Louis Cohen to discuss the matter.
Mr. Legault maintains that the Prime Minister of Canada is largely responsible for this problem, which is taking on a humanitarian dimension in Quebec.
“I want to be very clear, there, with Justin Trudeau, we have currently exceeded our reception capacity,” he said. “We are talking about housing, health, education, we have exceeded our reception capacity, among others in Montreal.”
- Listen to the Yasmine Abdelfadel and Marc-André Leclerc meeting broadcast live every day at 6 a.m. via QUB radio :
Redirected elsewhere
In addition, the Minister of Immigration, Christine Fréchette, announced that Ottawa had resumed redirecting asylum seekers arriving in Quebec via Roxham Road. “We have been lobbying the federal government for some time regarding Roxham Road and there we are starting to have results,” she said, noting that several have been sent to Ontario.
“We are very happy with that and we hope that it will be maintained over time.”
On Saturday and Sunday, around 380 people were reportedly redirected. Only eight would have remained in Quebec.
Mme Fréchette also mentioned that his government is always open to accepting 22% of new requests.
Last summer, the federal government had already redirected migrants to other provinces. Moreover, Quebec has not received any long-term guarantee.
According to sources in Ottawa, the Border Services Agency and the Department of Immigration want to develop a plan to ensure a humane reception of migrants, in the medium and long term.
- Listen to the interview with Stephan Reichhold on Philippe-Vincent Foisy’s show via QUB radio :
Review the agreement
Quebec also reiterated its demand “for the Government of Canada to renegotiate the Agreement with safe third countries to put an end to this untenable situation”.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister met with US Ambassador David Louis Cohen to discuss the matter.
Mr. Legault wants people crossing the border at Roxham Road to be governed by the same rules as those who come to an official border, such as Lacolle.
With the collaboration of Guillaume St-Pierre
