Canada shows its humanitarian nature as it opens its doors to admit Asylum Seekers arriving from the United States. The Canadian military is setting up a camp to accommodate the ever increasing number of refugees who are crossing the US border. The camp would accept up to 500 migrants in a camp in Quebec which is located near Plattsburgh, New York. The construction is expected to start shortly.
Montreal has already taken action on these lines by converting its Olympic Stadium into a shelter for refugees who are arriving from the US. The city also has plans to decommission a hospital and make it into a 320-bed facility.
Moreover, care will be taken for school going children of the refugees and they will be enrolled at a French-language school board.
The problem of asylum seekers
BBC reports that more than 3,300 asylum seekers have crossed over into Quebec between 1 January and 30 June. It is understood that the camp to be built by the military would house a large number of asylum seekers who would be provided with heated tents fitted with flooring and electricity but, it would be of a temporary nature. They can remain there till such time their applications get processed.
A spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency has revealed to a section of the media that there is already a backlog and clearing it will take time.
These people do not have any place to stay. Moreover, another group of over 1000 have entered in July and most of them are from Haiti. They had been victims of the 2010 earthquake and are enjoying temporary protection up to 2018 in the United States – hence, they are in a panic. Many of them are trying to get refugee status in Quebec, but Canada does not have any provision to grant protection to the quake affected.
Hence, Haiti is trying to resolve the issue at the government level.
Canada has embarked on a noble mission
US President Donald Trump is determined to check the flow of migrants from Mexico and wants to have a border wall. It is still on the drawing board but has already become a major problem for those who wanted to enter the US in search of a better life.
They are now zeroing on Canada.
CNN reports that in the first four months of 2017, more than 12,000 people from Mexico sought asylum in Canada and it accounts for over half the total number that officials have registered last year. Instead of roughing it out through the unfriendly terrain and braving the hardships of crossing the desert, many of the Mexican asylum seekers often use a remote street that connects New York with Quebec. These immigrants from Latin America feel going north to Canada is a safer option compared to the United States because of the border restrictions coupled with the US policy on immigration.
