OTTAWA — The federal government is transparently lying to potential asylum seekers by saying there are "no advantages" to coming across the border illegally, the Canadian Council for Refugees says.

Emmanuel Dubourg, the Liberal MP who was sent to Miami to discourage Haitians from travelling to Canada to claim asylum, told reporters Friday that he has been telling them "there is no advantage" to coming to the country irregularly.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Montreal earlier this week that this "is one of the myths that we are having to dispel... There are no advantages in terms of the immigration system to arrive irregularly versus arriving regularly," he stated.

View photos

But Janet Dench, the executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, told HuffPost Canada that Ottawa's plan seems "like a strange strategy, because it is so obviously false."

"The reason that people come irregularly is because that is the way to avoid the Safe Third Country Agreement. I don't understand on what basis you could say you don't have an advantage by doing it. I mean, the advantage is you can make a claim [while] you would be immediately found not eligible if you presented yourself at a point of entry," she said.

Under the 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement, individuals who try to enter Canada via the border with the United States are denied entry on the grounds that they should be applying for asylum there instead.

Since July, more than 6,000 people have crossed the Canada-U.S. border illegally. Most of them, 80 to 85 per cent, according to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) estimates, are Haitians who were granted temporary protected status in the United States after a devastating 2010 earthquake but who now may face the likelihood of being deported back to their homeland in January when their status expires.

The reason that people come irregularly is because that is the way to avoid the Safe Third Country Agreement. I don't understand on what basis you could say you don't have an advantage by doing it.

The Liberal government is "committed to orderly migration" and would like to stem the flow, Dubourg told reporters. The Creole-speaking MP was sent to Florida to counter misinformation in the community that, he said, suggests Canada gives a free pass to asylum seekers.

"This is absolutely false and is leading to misguid[ded] decisions," he said. "There are no shortcuts.... There are no guarantees that asylum seekers will be able to stay in Canada."

"Crossing the border irregularly only invites unnecessary risks, and there is no advantage from that. It must be clear for everyone: Entering Canada outside of an official port of entry is against the law. It can only present safety risks...."

"There are other ways to do it," he added, in French.

"There is no advantage to crossing the border in this way," he repeated.

Hondurans, Salvadorans face possible deportation in U.S., too





There are approximately 58,000 Haitians in the U.S. with this temporary status. Dubourg noted that other groups also facing upcoming deportation next year may be watching how Canada handles the situation and what the chances of success look like.

There are 86,000 Hondurans who may also be deported in January and 263,000 Salvadorans may see their temporary protected status expire in March.

Story continues