Oct 02, 2024 - 15:51
By cbc.ca

Quebec premier floats idea of 'waiting zones' in Canada for asylum seekers

Quebec Premier François Legault says his government has asked Ottawa to set up «waiting zones» for asylum seekers, as is the practice in France.

Legault told reporters during a news conference in Paris on Tuesday that Canada should take inspiration from the European country. Waiting zones in Canada, he added, could be located close to airports or elsewhere on the territory.

The premier has for months been calling on the federal government to redistribute would-be refugees across Canada. He says Quebec is home to 45 per cent of asylum seekers in the country, despite accounting for just 22 per cent of the population.

«So can we think about having waiting zones in other provinces?» he said.

In France, people arriving by boat, train or plane can be placed in a waiting zone at the border for up to 26 days if they are seeking asylum, if they are refused entry, or if they're denied boarding to the country of their final destination.

Ahead of Tuesday's cabinet meeting in Ottawa, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller accused Legault of using immigration for political ends.

«Secure zones are a completely different order of magnitude from anything that has been conceived in Canada. And it's never been mentioned in our working groups,» he said. «I think Mr. Legault is desperately trying to keep the public's attention on the immigration issue.»

Miller said he had «no idea» what exactly Quebec is calling for. «They're just throwing it out there,» he added.

The minister said Quebec is home to four of the 10 post-secondary institutions with the most asylum seekers in the country.

«Do they want to put these people in secure zones?» he said. «I don't know.»