Immigration Minister Marc Miller has accused Quebec Premier François Legault of using immigration for political ends, and said Ottawa cannot force people to move
Premier François Legault has made immigration a major focus of his visit to Paris, demanding that the federal government force asylum seekers in Quebec to move elsewhere, including people who have already settled in the province.
Legault’s latest remarks follow similar comments on Tuesday, when he said his government has asked Ottawa to create waiting zones for asylum seekers entering the country, similar to a system that has existed for decades in France. Miller said the federal government is working with the provinces to distribute asylum seekers more evenly across the country. But he has accused Legault of using immigration for political ends, and said Ottawa cannot force people to move.
The Quebec premier has for months been calling on Ottawa to redistribute would-be refugees across the country. On Tuesday, he floated the possibility of “waiting zones” to hold asylum seekers upon their arrival to Canada, invoking a longstanding practice in France. Waiting zones were developed in France in 1992, and roughly 100 of them exist at airports, ports and train stations across the country. People arriving in France can be held there for up to 26 days if they are seeking asylum, if they are refused entry or if they’re denied boarding to the country of their final destination.
Meighen also said there’s a heavy psychological toll on people who make the journey to seek asylum in a new country. “To have them being held in these artificial places is a bit perilous in terms of their long-term integration process,” she said.
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