Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Privy Council commissioned confidential research on whether Canadians would support citizenship for illegal immigrants, records show. Most, including legal immigrants, expressed stiff resistance to the idea.
The Trudeau government earlier proposed a federal program to offer former international students and rejected asylum claimants an application process to remain in Canada, though no such program has come to fruition.
The number of migrants living in Canada illegally is unknown, but an estimated 500,000 people could be in the country without status, according to an April 24 briefing note titled Undocumented Migrants.
Migrants who have lived in Canada for several years and those with children born here would qualify for the proposed “regularization” program.
Several Liberal MPs earlier expressed hesitancy with Cabinet providing illegal immigrants a pathway to permanent residency.
Rebel News’ Alexa Lavoie went to the U.S. to continue her coverage on what’s going on with the increase of illegal immigration to Canada at the Roxham Road crossing.
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Researchers found stiff resistance against queue jumpers, including from legal immigrants who spent “many years” following the rules, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.
“Asked whether they felt ‘out of status’ workers residing in Canada should be provided with a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship… a large number did not believe any pathway to citizenship should be offered,” said the report, Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views.
Among these, participants felt it would be unfair to those working to immigrate to Canada by following the official (and legal) process.
“A number who had themselves immigrated to Canada by following official channels felt allowing ‘out of status’ workers this opportunity would be discouraging considering the many years it had taken them to acquire their permanent residency and citizenship,” the report furthered.
Illegal immigrants in Canada could number 500,000, says Migrant Rights Network executive director Syed Hussan.
He adds it’s “crucial” to give these people paths to permanent residency, in the name of “equality and fairness.”https://t.co/TXq29qhTJo pic.twitter.com/Gic8nTrHAr
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The research followed a 2018 study by the Department of Immigration that similarly noted widespread resistance to preferential treatment for illegal immigrants.
“We pass all the requirements to come here and they just walk in to Canada and Canada takes them in,” one foreign-born Canadian was quoted in the 2018 Qualitative And Quantitative Research About Newcomers And Immigrants. “I do not understand how people can just walk across the border.”
In 2021, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed then-immigration minister Sean Fraser to “further explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities.”
Cabinet discussions remain ongoing, with potential legislation likely months away from introduction.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller earlier said: “When you educate Canadians,” they are “more inclined” to support regularization. In an interview with the NPR program Freakonomics, Miller went on to minimize the impact illegal immigration had on taxpayers.
Room and board for illegal immigrants is costing an average $224 per day, according to new immigration data. By comparison, Old Age Security pays recipients $26 daily.
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The numbers are astonishing.
Room and board for migrants cost $224 per day, according to recent immigration data. By comparison, Old Age Security pays recipients $26 daily. The typical hotel stays amount to $140 per day, with food costing $84, reported Blacklock’s Reporter after Conservative MP Lianne Rood requested the figures.
Accommodating migrants “ensures [they] are treated with compassion and efficiency while preserving the integrity of the immigration system,” reads a cabinet inquiry.
The Budget Office in a 2018 report Costing Irregular Migration Across Canada’s Southern Border said federal expenses averaged $14,321 per illegal immigrant. Costs were as high as $33,700, depending on backlogs.
Room and board for illegal immigrants cost $769 million last year, according to a December 7 testimony at the Senate National Finance Committee. However, the total cost of illegal immigration for local authorities, school boards, food banks and charities has not been calculated.
Refugees and illegal immigrants are taking up nearly 4,000 hotel rooms across Canada on the taxpayer dime
Refugee claimants are currently living on the taxpayer dime with free meals and medical care, with room and board costs pegged at $224 per day.https://t.co/0wR0cdEwyr
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Amid all of this, Minister Miller earlier cheered on Canada’s population for reaching 40 million. “This is about sustaining Canada,” he said. “That is not doable without people coming in from abroad.”
In contrast, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told a French outlet last month that immigration numbers will be “much lower” if he becomes prime minister.
“It’s impossible to invite 1.2 million new people to Canada every year,” he said. “When you’re building 200,000 housing units, it’s impossible. There’s no room.”