immigrantscanada.com

Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

Mid-Year Surveys: Asylum Seekers and Border

mid-year surveys: Border Security Minister Bill Blair pointed to the fact that, compared to last summer, this summer there was not a major surge in the number of irregular border crossers apprehended by RCMP. Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS This monitoring includes internal polling conducted by the Immigration Department to track public opinion about asylum seekers, according to Toronto Star. Two mid-year surveys of 2,000 Canadians, conducted by the department in March, suggested Canadians were not overly confident about Canada's ability to manage the border at unguarded points-of-entry and had little sense of obligation about accepting asylum seekers from the United States. Documents released to The Canadian Press under access-to-information law show department officials receive weekly internal updates on media coverage and public response to issues related to asylum seekers coming irregularly into the country across the Canada-U.S. border. Fewer than half of respondents 43 per cent in a telephone survey and 35 per cent in an online survey agreed that Canada is taking appropriate steps to manage irregular border crossings. Canadians are more receptive to refugees who have been selected by the government of Canada compared to those who come to Canada and claim asylum, the internal document notes as one of its key take-aways from the public survey. Article Continued Below 42 per cent of telephone respondents and just 18 per cent of those online indicated they felt the number of people coming to Canada and claiming asylum was at an appropriate level. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.