Migrants and asylum-seekers are increasingly crossing a treacherous part of the Atlantic Ocean to reach the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago near West Africa, in what has become one of the most dangerous routes to European territory.

On Saturday, many migrants gathered in solidarity to send a message that too many people are excluded from the permanent residency program.

A group seeking status for asylum seekers who were employed as essential workers during the first wave of the pandemic says August will be a pivotal month.

In the decision released Wednesday, Justice Ann McDonald ruled the U.S. is no longer a safe country for refugees sent back from Canada due to the risk of imprisonment.

The Federal Court has ruled that the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States is unconstititonal.

Bonnie Lysyk says the $200 million estimate given by the governing Progressive Conservatives in 2018 represented the cost of providing services to all refugee claimants, not just so-called irregular border crossers.

New statistics show 21 people were apprehended by the RCMP crossing into Canada from the U.S. in May, despite the shutdown of the border.

The changes, outlined in 150 pages of legalese, aim to redefine how people qualify for asylum and similar forms of protection to prevent them from being persecuted or tortured if sent home.

The movement wants special status granted to asylum seekers working as orderlies in the province's pandemic-hit long-term care homes.

"With this pilot program, we want to pick 550 orderlies because the needs are urgent," said Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette.