Canadian Press and Officials

u.s: The results of their tabletop exercises will help form options being put before cabinet Tuesday, The Canadian Press has learned, according to Toronto Star. Officials are also studying links between distinct groups of border-crossers that might belie the common notion they're all being pushed into Canada by the volatile U.S. political climate. Border security, RCMP and immigration officials have been running scenarios to prepare for the possibility that a relative winter trickle of illegal immigration into Canada could turn into a spring flood. Two government officials confirmed to The Canadian Press that many of the people coming into Quebec hold U.S. visas issued at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Conservatives are demanding a crackdown, and want those crossing illegally charged with crimes, something the government notes cannot happen until asylum claims are heard. react-empty 164 The fact those claims are being fed into a clogged system has others urging the Liberals to put more resources into the refugee-determination process and the agencies that support newcomers. Article Continued Below Interviews revealed the visas were obtained to use the U.S. as a transit point solely and to get to Canada to claim asylum plans set in motion long before the U.S. election in November, the officials said, neither of whom were authorized to publicly discuss the issue. react-text 154 An RCMP officer carries a young child as her family crosses the U.S.- Canada border in Hemmingford, Que. /react-text Graham Hughes / THE CANADIAN PRESS But it is the pictures of RCMP officers hoisting small children above snow-covered fields along the Canada-U.S. frontier that have drawn global attention and placed political pressure on the Trudeau government from all sides. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.