Canadian PM grilled over reported bid to turn away refugees

The Canadian prime minister and his ministers have been questioned in parliament over purported government efforts to get legal authority for turning back thousands of asylum seekers crossing the border into the country.

Reuters had earlier cited a Canadian official familiar with the matter as saying that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seeking to change a bilateral agreement with the United States to allow Ottawa to turn back refugees at its entire border with the US.

Under the pact, called the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), in its current form, the refugees who arrive at formal Canada-US border crossings from either direction are turned back and told to apply for asylum in the first country they arrived in.

Citing the Canadian official, Reuters had reported that Ottawa had entered negotiations with the US to rewrite the agreement in a way that it could be applied to the entire border. The official had also told Reuters that Washington was not cooperating.

The US Department of Homeland Security has said it is reviewing Ottawa’s proposal but has not made a decision yet.

Ottawa, however, dismissed the report and that it is in “exploratory” talks with Washington. Trudeau only told the parliamentary session on Tuesday that his government had been in contact with American counterparts “for months” on “many issues relating to our border.”

His Immigration and Refugee Minister Ahmed Hussen also refused to say what Canada was asking the US for, insisting that there were no “formal negotiations” ongoing.

“If we are entering into talks with the Americans... what kind of message does it send to the Americans if you’ve got the ministers out saying, ‘We’re not negotiating?’” said Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel.

In the past 15 months, over 26,000 people have illegally crossed the Canada-US border to file refugee claims. According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump’s anti-refugee policies have prompted many to leave the country to seek for asylum in Canada.

New Democratic Party critic Jenny Kwan said Canada’s efforts to turn back asylum seekers would force border crossers underground.

“The Liberal government has failed to come up with a plan in the face of [US President Donald] Trump,” Kwan said.

SS