Key stakeholders are pulling out all the stops
Marc Garneau, chairing the task force and himself a government minister, opened the meeting and stressed that the current efforts underway to address increasing numbers of asylum seekers have involved the entire government. Also, local and regional agencies and provinces have been pulling out all the stops and taking ownership of the situation to effectively respond to a constant state of flux.
Migrant flows
Minister Ahmed Hussen, in charge of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship told the meeting that migrant flows across the Lacolle border in Quebec have been consistent so far in 2018. In January, a daily average of 50 migrants was recorded and these people were intercepted at the border without any official paperwork to enter the country such as a Canada ETA or a Canada Visa. Mr. Hussen explained that his team is continually reviewing migrant volumes to spot developing patterns and any changes to these. This particularly applies to migrant groups who are soon to lose their U.S.Temporary Protected Status.
A high proportion of work permits granted
Throughout Canada, work permits continue to be given to both regular and irregular asylum seekers and the service standard of 30 days is successfully being met. The vast majority (97%) of applications for work permits came from irregular asylum seekers and the most have been endorsed. Only 3% were not granted and this was mainly due to medical reasons.
Monitoring border crossing points
As from early November 2017, there is a new mobile processing unit at the port of Lacolle, which is an entry point for migrants. Since it opened, 720 claims for asylum have been processed from migrants without a Canada visa, Canada ETA or an official means of entering the country. He noted too that other border points across the country would soon have similar units and these would be ready to tackle higher migrant volumes to keep on top of the Canada immigration situation.
Significant investment in immigration with an eye on security
Minister Garneau underlined the significant funds that the government has invested in Canada immigration, with $173.2 million over a 24-month period to manage irregular migration. This funding will go towards supporting new claims for asylum, assessing eligibility, processing claims faster and implementing more efficient procedures for security screening, detaining and removing anyone who might pose a threat to Canada's safety and security.
Public Safety Canada has stated that there is a plan in place to respond to the asylum seeker influx, with the Government continuing to plan various outcomes and eventualities. Local response plans are in place to offer a coordinated and cohesive response and these have been suitably developed to become more effective. Regional plans are constantly being updated and tabletop exercises have also been carried out within several regions, namely Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Manitoba. The National government and Ontario officials will soon collaborate to carry out a further tabletop exercise.
A national and international effort
For many months since mid-2017, Quebec implemented numerous procedures to tackle a very high and unexpected volume of refugees claiming asylum. Quebec has achieved this through engaging and involving regional and national departments, agencies and community groups. The key players are now in place and ready to swiftly implement measures to react quickly in a changing situation.
Officials are also still working alongside their U.S. counterparts, with the U.S. Departments of State and Homeland Security currently in the loop. This is important for mutual support and to ensure that shared borders are properly managed. Any changes in policies are quickly communicated to address challenges both countries share when it comes to immigration. As part of this collaborative effort, Canadian officials have traveled to Washington for meetings with US officials and are also engaging with other U.S. counterparts in overseas offices.
Turning lives around
The Task Force was briefed by Pablo Rodriguez, a member of parliament, concerning his recent visits to Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, and Washington. Here, he worked on outreach projects with Hispanic and other communities. Canada's outreach efforts are starting to pay off and numerous interviews have been offered to thousands of migrants with a view to turning their lives around.
The meeting closed with a statement of commitment by Marc Garneau concerning the Canadian government's commitment to protecting national safety and securing the country's borders. However, he also stressed that another major aim is to treat asylum seekers compassionately and give them access to the right legal processes.
