Threats from Donald Trump | Is the plan to secure the border sufficient?

(Ottawa) There is no “magic potion” to remove the threat of customs tariffs that Donald Trump is looming over Canada, recognizes the federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller. He took stock on Wednesday with his colleague at Public Security, David McGuinty, of the 1.3 billion plan to tighten security at the border and try to appease the president-elect of the United States.


Posted at 11:05 a.m.

Updated at 3:53 p.m.

The trafficking of hard drugs like fentanyl and the arrival of illegal immigrants from Canada on American soil are among the irritants cited by Mr. Trump, whose swearing-in is scheduled for Monday. The plan announced in December aimed to convince the next American administration to abandon its threat to impose tariffs of 25% on Canadian products.

“I don’t think we should expect a magic potion that will be the solution to absolutely everything,” admitted Minister Miller at a press conference. The behavior, what we have seen, Mr. Trump’s public statements, Canadians must prepare for four years of this. »

He argued that some of the measures announced in the area of ​​immigration may take up to a year before we see their effects, such as the tightening of measures in force since last summer regarding asylum requests. made by foreign nationals who arrive in Canada on a visitor visa.

The new measures to detect fraud are working, he says. The refusal rate for temporary residence applications increased to 63% in 2024 from 38% the previous year, according to data from the federal Immigration Ministry.

The number of people apprehended after attempting illegal crossing from Canada to the United States has decreased by 89%, noted Minister Miller.

To date, 60 drones have been deployed along the border and two additional helicopters will patrol from January 17, adding to the six already in operation. They were rented to an Ottawa company, said the deputy commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Bryan Larkin, without naming the company.

“Our goal is to add two more helicopters,” he added.

PHOTO SPENCER COLBY, THE CANADIAN PRESS

From left to right, Bryan Larkin, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, David McGuinty, Minister of Public Safety, Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, and Erin O’Gorman, President of the Border Services Agency of Canada

The plan includes several other measures including the addition of surveillance towers and the purchase of mobile x-ray devices and portable chemical analyzers.

The Border Services Agency is also preparing to open the first shared border crossing on American soil. It will be located in Cannon Corners in New York State and the Covey Hill port of entry in Quebec will be closed to travelers for two years.

“We are hopeful and continue to be hopeful that the new administration will understand how very serious we are about this northern border [des États-Unis] », Said Minister McGuinty, in office for less than a month.

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He also insisted on the need to “demystify inaccurate information”. For example, the extent of fentanyl trafficking between Canada and the United States. “Less than 1% of illegal drugs crossing American borders come from Canada,” he said.

Need time

In an open letter published Wednesday in the American newspaper The HillPrime Minister François Legault recalls that he shares some of the president-elect’s concerns about security at the Canadian-American border and immigration control.

“However, Trump should give Canada time to meet his expectations on these two issues before imposing tariffs that would greatly harm our two countries,” he wrote.

The Quebec Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, had reiterated the day before the Legault government’s desire to put pressure on Ottawa to reassure Mr. Trump.

In 2024, the minister said, 19,000 migrants crossed the border into the United States in a sector that stretches between the cities of Cornwall in Ontario and Sherbrooke in Quebec.

PHOTO CAROLINE PLANTE, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel

To limit these passages, we must reduce the number of visas given to Indian immigrants, he believes. “The largest percentage of these people crossing illegally [proviennent] of the Indian community,” said Mr. Bonnardel.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts in Ottawa on Wednesday to discuss the plan to tighten border security and planned retaliatory measures against the United States.

Following a meeting with the federal Minister of Finance, Dominic LeBlanc, on Tuesday, the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, who chairs the Council of the Federation, praised Ottawa’s plan on the Canada-US border .

Ottawa had already announced in December elements of its 1.3 billion plan to convince the next Trump administration to abandon its threat of customs tariffs. Among other things, he plans to create a North American unit of police and cross-border agents to fight organized crime.

With Charles Lecavalier, The Press

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