OTTAWA, ON – The Hon. Michelle Rempel, Conservative Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and Pierre Paul-Hus, Conservative Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, today issued the following statement in response to Minister Bill Blair’s mandate letter from Prime Minister Trudeau:

“Nearly two months after the Prime Minister appointed Bill Blair to cabinet, we finally received some information about his job description, but unfortunately it’s clearly an exercise in public relations, not a plan of action.

“The letter contains no formal commitment to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement in such a way that would close the loophole that facilitates the Roxham Road crossing in Quebec. This is because Justin Trudeau has no intention of doing so.

“Conservatives have been calling on the Trudeau government to make concrete policy decisions to deal with the influx of border crossings for almost two years. In that time period, they have failed to broach the issues with the Americans, instead choosing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to facilitate the claims of those illegally crossing the border from safe spaces like upstate New York.

“The Liberal government’s complete mismanagement of our immigration system means that the world’s most vulnerable who are waiting in refugee camps and newcomers to Canada waiting their turn to have their applications processed will have to wait longer. It is long past time for the Prime Minister to present Canadians with a plan to deal with his mess.

“Further, we still don’t have any clarity on who is lead on this issue. How can Minister Blair be expected to negotiate with the United States if the Liberals can’t even figure out which Minister is in charge of their intergovernmental task force?

“Instead of presenting a fully costed, long-term plan to Canadians, Justin Trudeau has chosen to allow illegal border crossings to become a permanent stream of immigration. This is yet another example of an unbudgeted non-solution from this Liberal government.

“This parliamentary session, Canada’s Conservatives will continue to hold the government to account and advocate for constructive policy solutions, such as the ones we announced last week. Our Pathway To Canada tour will allow us to hear directly from policy-makers and stakeholders on how best to improve our immigration system.

“Conservatives have a plan to refocus Canada’s immigration system on order, fairness and compassion. Justin Trudeau does not.”

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For more information:

Office of Michelle Rempel, MP
Michelle.Rempel.A1@parl.gc.ca
613-992-4275

Office of Pierre Paul-Hus
Pierre.Paul-Hus@parl.gc.ca
613-995-8857