HALIFAX — The premiers of Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador are so far the only leaders to publicly volunteer to take in asylum seekers to ease pressure on Quebec, despite a joint call from all premiers for would-be refugees to be distributed mo
re evenly across the country.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he'd be prepared to welcome more asylum seekers, especially francophones, but only if the province gets more money from the federal government. In a joint release Tuesday, the provincial and territorial premiers said they support a"fair distribution" of asylum seekers across Canada. They called on the federal government to"expedite assessment of genuine asylum seekers entering Canada and to work with provincial and territorial governments to determine the appropriate number of accepted asylum seekers.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said his province and Quebec together"bear the brunt" of supporting asylum seekers, and that it takes too long for Ottawa to issue work permits for the newcomers."They want a better life. They want to work like everyone else, to contribute to society," he said."We really need the support from the federal government."
For months, the Quebec premier has been pressing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reduce immigration levels to Quebec, and says he wants to cut the number of asylum seekers in the province by half. After a meeting with Legault last month, Trudeau announced the federal government was offering the province $750 million to help support newcomers, but didn't commit to any targets for cutting immigration.
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