People's Party of Canada policy statement on refugees

Anticipating the general election scheduled for October 21st, Maxime Bernier's People's Party of Canada has released its policy papers on immigration, refugees and other critical issues on which Canadians will be asked to vote. Walt has just received the following press release which, IMHO, sets out a sensible policy not just for Canada but for the other AABC countries and western Europe. [Too bad it's too late for Europe. Ed.]

Refugees: Ending Open Borders Policies

and Prioritizing Persecuted Groups

Issue
The Liberal government is deliberately attempting to erase our borders. Over the past three years, it has done nothing to stop the flow of tens of thousands of asylum seekers illegally crossing our borders. Accepting all these refugees will cost Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars.

Moreover, in 2018, Canada welcomed more resettled refugees than any other Western country; more than the United States, a country with ten times our population, and as many as all of the European Union.

The UN’s Global Compact for Migration, which the Liberal government signed last year, aims to normalize this kind of situation, and to make it easier for millions of people to move to Canada and other Western democracies at will.

Facts
Since early 2017, more than 45,000 migrants have illegally entered Canada, mainly at Roxham Road in Quebec, avoiding official border checkpoints where they would be turned away and told to file refugee claims in the United States. About 40% of the refugee claims that have been processed have been rejected. These false refugees will eventually have to be deported, after costing governments tens of thousands of dollars each.

A report by the Parliamentary Budget Officer found that the federal government spends on average about $14,000 for each asylum seeker crossing into Canada outside of official border points. The total annual cost for federal agencies to process these claims is expected to reach $396 million in 2019-2020. It does not include expenses incurred by the provinces, territories or municipalities, which pick up costs related to social services.

Our Plan
Our current refugee policy is unsustainable, costly, and it is being abused by false refugees at our borders. This must end. The moral obligation of Canada’s government is to first help those in need among our own population, and then to give priority to real refugees.

A People’s Party Government Will:

• Accept fewer resettled refugees (see also Immigration policy).
• Take every measure necessary, in partnership with our American neighbours, to stop the flow of illegal migrants at the US-Canadian border.
• Declare the whole border an official port of entry for the purposes of refugee claims to send back to the US anyone trying to enter Canada illegally.
• Fence off the areas where illegal border jumping is prevalent, such as Roxham Road in Quebec.
• Rely on private sponsorships instead of having the government pay for all the costs of resettling refugees in Canada.
• Stop our reliance on the United Nations for refugee selection.
• Give priority to refugees belonging to persecuted groups who have nowhere to go in neighbouring countries. For example: Christians, Yazidis, and members of other minority religions in majority Muslim countries; members of the Ahmadi community, and other Muslims in these countries who are persecuted because they reject political Islam and adhere to Western values; and members of sexual minorities.
• Take Canada out of the UN’s Global Compact for Migration.

Further reading: "Max Bernier's PPC policy on immigration, in point form" WWW 25/7/19.