Canada is set to welcome 11,000 migrants from Colombia, Haiti and Venezuela this fall, immigration minister Marc Miller said.
In March of this year, Canada had promised it would welcome 15,000 migrants from the western hemisphere over the course of the year. On Tuesday, Miller said Canada was creating a “new humanitarian permanent residence pathway” for 11,000 migrants from three countries.
“Starting this fall, Colombian, Haitian and Venezuelan foreign nationals located in Central or South America or the Caribbean who have extended family connections in Canada will be eligible to apply for this new pathway,” Miller said in a statement.
The principal applicant, regardless of age, must be a child, grandchild, spouse, common-law partner, parent, grandparent or sibling of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. New permanent residents under this program will be offered “enhanced pre-arrival services,” which include an employment skills assessment and a referral to a settlement provider organization in their intended community.
“Global displacement of people in search of safety is at an all-time high. The Americas are seeing unprecedented numbers of migrants seeking safe haven and new opportunities, in often dangerous situations such as crossing the Darien Gap. Working closely with the US, we expect to see these measures help curb irregular migration and promote safe migration as an alternative to the often dangerous irregular routes in the Americas,” Miller said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada’s intention to welcome 15,000 migrants from the Americas on March 23, two days before the Safe Third Country Agreement was extended to apply to the entire U.S.-Canada border.
The agreement, which first came into effect in 2004 and recognizes Canada and the U.S. as safe places for migrants to seek protection, recently came under scrutiny.
Under the agreement, migrants must seek asylum in the first of the two countries they land in, making it illegal to cross the border and seek asylum in the other country. In June of this year, the Supreme Court of Canada said the agreement was constitutional and does not violate Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom — the right to life, liberty and security of a person.
Opponents of the treaty asked the top court to declare that the legislation underpinning the pact violates the right to life, liberty and security of the person, saying the U.S. is not actually safe for many asylum seekers.
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The Canadian government argued to Supreme Court justices that returnees have access to fair asylum and detention processes south of the border.
The court recognized the risk that refugees face, but said there were safety valves present in the legislation.
Soon after the Supreme Court’s verdict, Gauri Sreenivasan, co–executive director at the Canadian Council for Refugees, called on the federal government to withdraw from the agreement anyway.
“The U.S. is not a safe country for refugees. And our organizations have brought overwhelming evidence that sending people who are seeking safety here back to the U.S. causes serious violation of rights. Rights that are protected both under the Canadian Charter (of Rights and Freedoms) and international law.”
Last year, Canada received 20,891 refugee claims from people who crossed the border outside of an official border crossing, federal data shows.
In the first three months of 2023, before the agreement was extended to apply to the entire border, Canada received 14,192 refugee claims from irregular border crossers.
This year’s expansion of the agreement removed unofficial crossings such as Roxham Road in Quebec as viable options for potential asylum seekers to get to Canada.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
