Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says he will be speaking with the Canada Border Services Agency to make sure its staff know Americans seeking abortions can come to Canada for care.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Mendicino said people in the U.S. may be feeling doubt about whether they will be able to access abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, as a leaked draft ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court suggested earlier this week is imminent.
Mendicino said the ability of Americans to come to Canada for abortions is not in question, but he wants to make sure that position is clear to those working on the frontlines at the border.
“I’ve engaged CBSA, my office is currently working with them to make sure there are clear guidelines so that women who may not be able to access healthcare including abortions are able to come to Canada,” he said.
“If some women want to come to Canada to access those procedures, I have given them the directive to welcome them,” he added in French.
Mendicino billed the move as a “measure of caution” in the event Roe v. Wade is overturned and described the hope as being to “eliminate any ambiguity” that border officials may have as to whether someone travelling to Canada for an abortion is eligible to enter the country.
What is unclear at this time is whether any information on those individuals would be shared with American law enforcement or state officials looking to prosecute people for travelling for an abortion, as some experts have suggested could be next if Roe v. Wade falls.
Canada and the U.S. have extensive cross-border data sharing agreements designed to make it easier to flag people who may pose a risk to national security, or who are violating immigration rules.
Global News has asked Mendicino’s office for clarity on the matter.
In the context of abortion rights, jurisdictions that provide access to those outside their borders are often referred to as “safe havens.”
States like California have vowed to enshrine abortion access more strongly in their laws in the wake of the leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft ruling on Roe v. Wade, while experts are also raising the possibility that for Americans close to the Canadian border, this country could become their nearest safe haven.
“I think the big challenges for Canadians are going to be ongoing access to abortion if Canada becomes a safe haven of Americans,” said Dr. Dustin Costescu, an associate professor at McMaster University as well as a family planning and sexual health specialist.
Costescu said all the information available right now suggests there will remain abortion access in a number of states along the Eastern Seaboard if Roe v. Wade falls, including New York.
That would mean Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes may not see a “significant” level of spillover.
“Michigan, on the other hand, becomes a bit of a hot spot in terms of whether abortion is accessible. As we move westward into the U.S. Midwest, that’s where we see pockets of states that will fall when Roe v Wade falls,” he added.
“Geographically, this is considered ‘frontier country.’ These are large distances. But if people have to choose to go hundreds of kilometers south or north [to access abortion], they may come up north.”
Read more:
How abortion access differs across U.S. — and how overturning Roe v. Wade could change it
Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson is the founder of the Alberta Abortion Access Network, and works as what’s known as an abortion doula. That means her job is helping people who need abortions access them.
The support she and other abortion doulas offer includes help arranging travel, pickup and drop-off at sexual health clinics or abortion clinics, help arranging accommodations if a person has to leave their home community to get the abortion, help accessing accurate information, as well as emotional support.
She told Global News on Tuesday that resources in many parts of her province are already stretched.
“Access in Alberta is better than some places, but still not great,” she said. “We still have a hard time getting people in rural areas into the cities for their appointments, especially because there are so few doctors that are yet prescribing abortion medication.”
Reinhardt-Simpson said an influx of people coming north could add to those challenges.
“We’re not really equipped for dealing with Albertans who need abortion care. We cannot even provide comprehensive health services for women or trans and non-binary people in our own province,” she said.
“So for sure, if people did come up here in large numbers, there would be a very big problem.”
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform, formerly known as Twitter
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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