Wednesday Evening: Border and Country Agreement

wednesday evening: We have the majority of asylum seekers come through Quebec and so we see here today that we've been proposing solutions and tonight there was a real openness for solutions, said David Heurtel, according to CTV. Tens of thousands of people crossed the border last year outside of a border crossing station in order to seek asylum. Quebec's Immigration Minister met his federal counterpart on Wednesday evening to discuss the influx of people crossing the border and asking to remain in Canada. According to the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the U.S. anyone seeking asylum at a border crossing between the two countries is refused and sent back to the other country to make their claim, but those who do so elsewhere are allowed to make their claim in the country where they are located. People have to realize now in Ottawa that our system is stretched, and it cannot be stretched much more, said Premier Philippe Couillard. So far in 2018, more than 6,000 people have crossed the border to make asylum claims, with most people doing so from Vermont into Quebec, where the border is easily accessible. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.