As government leaders continue to clash over how best to handle the flow of asylum seekers in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has tapped former Toronto police chief and current legal cannabis point man Bill Blair to lead a newly formed team responsible for “irregular migration.”
Trudeau made a number of tweaks to his federal cabinet in a shuffle on Wednesday morning. But it’s Blair’s new position as Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction that’s of particular note, signaling that the Liberals are taking a new approach to border security in the wake of criticisms from the Conservative party and provincial leaders that the government has been too lax on the file.
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“We remain focused on effectively managing the arrival of irregular migrants,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a news release on the cabinet changes.
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And that includes tasking Blair, who currently serves as parliamentary secretary to the justice and health ministers, with ensuring “Canada’s borders are managed in a way that promotes legitimate travel and trade while keeping Canadians safe and treating everyone fairly in accordance with our laws.”
The portfolio’s description also lumps border security with “coordinating efforts to reduce gun violence and tackle organized crime.”
In addition to these duties, Blair will also continue to lead the federal efforts to legalize recreational cannabis, which will come into effect in October.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Trudeau was asked why he siphoned off the border security file from the current immigration ministry into a new portfolio.
Trudeau explained that the arrival of irregular migrants falls under two ministries: public safety and immigration.
“We felt that being able to bring forward someone with the extraordinary public security experience and history of service well-known to most Ontarians … within the larger areas of public safety and immigration” would help “complement them.”
Blair’s new role will likely put him in regular contact with Ontario’s new Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Doug Ford, who has expressed frustration at the current influx of asylum seekers in the province. Ford and Blair have a long and complicated relationship, dating back to when Blair served as Toronto’s police chief during the tumultuous Rob Ford mayoralty.
Ford announced earlier this month his government would be scaling back Ontario’s support for asylum seekers, calling on the feds to “foot 100 percent of the bills” associated with the influx of irregular border crossers.
Specifically, Ontario would pull out from a cooperative agreement with the federal government on the resettlement of these asylum seekers. But it’s unclear exactly what that will entail.
Federal immigration minister Ahmed Hussen last week criticized his Ontario counterpart, Lisa MacLeod as fostering “divisive” rhetoric on asylum seekers that was “not Canadian”
MacLeod has since demanded an apology from Hussen for his remarks, describing them as an attempt to “intimidate” her.
Federal Conservatives rushed to support MacLeod and piled on Hussen, accusing him and the Liberals of leaving cities and provinces incapable of properly handling the resettlement efforts for newcomers.
Federal immigration critic Michelle Rempel on Monday called for special hearings into irregular border crossers seeking asylum in Canada.
“I think it is completely unacceptable for us to normalize the government being able to expend hundreds of millions of dollars in a piecemeal fashion without having that broader conversation,” Rempel told reporters. “This is a big departure from any immigration policy this government ran on.”
Liberals have pointed out that the number of asylum seekers crossing through the U.S.-Canada border has been on the decline over the last month.
“We continue to engage directly with the municipalities in order to ensure the orderly management of asylum seekers,” a spokesperson for Hussen told CBC News.
Cover image: Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
