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The problem is, the federal government is doing nothing to deter the practice of people entering Canada illegally. In fact, their silence on the matter — and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s tweet in January welcoming all asylum seekers into Canada — has had the effect of encouraging the practice. And that’s wrong.

Entering Canada through unofficial border crossings is illegal. And the federal government should announce and reinforce that Canada does not condone such action. Otherwise, it undermines the very laws that we demand new Canadians follow when they settle here.

We either have secure borders or we don’t.

Of course once border jumpers have crossed into Canada illegally, it’s not a simple matter of arresting them and sending them back to the U.S. Under Canadian law, based on Supreme Court of Canada rulings, everyone in Canada has protection under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to seek a refugee hearing.

Of course, no matter what action is taken by the federal government to crack down on illegal border crossing, there will always be some leakage. But that’s not the point. The point is, there are a growing number of people crossing the border illegally and the federal government is doing nothing to discourage the practice, nor are they trying to find solutions with U.S. officials. Manitoba is now on track to see 1,500 or more illegal asylum seekers cross the border this year. That’s well above the few hundred or less that have crossed annually into Manitoba in recent years.