August 2, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CALGARY, AB – The Honourable Michelle Rempel, Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and Pierre Paul-Hus, Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, issued a statement following the release of documents outlining the preliminary partial federal costs of illegal border crossings:

“Justin Trudeau has repeatedly failed to tell Canadian taxpayers how much his band-aid solutions for the mismanagement at our borders is costing, or adequately budget for the same. However, after nearly two years of asking, Conservatives have obtained documents that show the mess that the Trudeau government has created will cost at least $270 million at the federal level, most of that in 2018 alone.

“Despite this new information, we still have no idea what the projected costs related to deportations, housing, provincial transfers, and social services will be. The Prime Minister has only made the situation worse, and permanent, by failing to take action, and provinces and municipalities will continue to bear the brunt of these costs until the Trudeau government is able to present a fully-costed plan to deal with the situation at our borders. Processing backlogs are still growing, and homeless shelter capacity is still shrinking.

“Not only did the documents outline partial costs associated with illegal border crossings, they also highlighted the issue of ‘anchor relatives’. Once an individual crosses at an unofficial point of entry, family members can present themselves at a port of entry and not be considered an irregular migrant. No costing information or further data on the number of people who have taken advantage of this loophole is offered.

“This data shows that Justin Trudeau is still hiding the total projected number of people his government thinks may cross the border illegally in coming years due to his failure to close the loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement. At a time when Canadians are struggling to make ends meet, and so many newcomers are trying to legally enter Canada, the Trudeau government’s failure to manage our borders poses an unfair and unnecessary challenge.

“It is long past time the Prime Minister presents Canadians with a plan to deal with this mess. A Conservative government will regain control of our borders, prioritize refugees from the world’s most dangerous countries, and make sure those who obey the law are treated fairly.”