Well, it’s official, we now have more people seeking asylum in Canada illegally than legally.
I suppose Canadians should be grateful that the Citizenship and Immigration ministry is at least transparent about the numbers so you can check it out for yourself. They only have the first two months posted, but the trend is already troubling.
The first thing you will notice is that the number of illegal migrants so far this year exceeds the number who came in through regular border crossings: 3,082 illegal migrants intercepted by RCMP versus 2,950 through air, marine, land and inland ports of entry.
You will also notice these numbers are already three times higher than last year’s numbers. We haven’t even reached peak crossing season either. If this continues, rather than 20,000 people coming across the border illegally like we saw in 2017, we are going to see 60,000 illegal migrants.
LISTEN: Immigration lawyer Raj Sharma discusses immigration numbers with Danielle Smith
Immigration lawyer Raj Sharma, he paints a picture of a process that has been completely derailed. The backlog in claims was already bad and this influx of illegal arrivals is only making the delays worse. Sharma said the approval ratio is as high as 70 per cent, likely because overwhelmed officials find it easier to accept claims rather than reject them. That of course only encourages more illegal migrants to cross the border and take their chances.
LISTEN: Robert Vinberg from the U of C School of Public policy discusses the immigration system
Last week, the University of Calgary School of Public Policy said the problems stem from the 1992 Singh decision, which has been interpreted to mean that every claimant must be granted a hearing. They proposed some changes to clear the backlog, such as using a different process to streamline approvals for those that are going to be accepted and only having a tribunal hear rejected claims.
Sharma doubts this would be permissible, but in any case, it doesn’t address the real problem.
The real problem is the rule of law no longer exists. We used to abide by the Safe Third Country agreement, which was meant to prevent asylum seekers from jurisdiction shopping. If you came from a safe third country, such as the United States, you had to make your claim there.
Then Donald Trump got elected and started to tell those who had been granted temporary status that they would have to leave. So they are coming here.
The way I see it, there is no question Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is squarely to blame for Canada’s breakdown in basic law and order. He has taken such great pains to distinguish his immigration policy from that of the United States – implying that everyone who doesn’t share his globalist view of the world is a xenophobic nativist – that it’s no wonder illegal migrants think Canada now has an open border policy. He even conveyed the same sentiment in speaking to the French legislature as recently as Tuesday.
And who can forget this tweet, which was retweeted 412,380 times:
No one should be surprised at where we find ourselves now. However, Canada expects its citizens to follow the rules. We are a nation built on the premise of peace, order and good government. That is the reason we have broad-based public support for a high level of immigration.
Unless Trudeau gets a handle on illegal migration, that public support will begin to slide. I don’t think anyone wants to see that.
Danielle Smith can be reached at danielle@770chqr.com
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