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Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Tuesday that the asylum seekers are being screened for COVID-19 symptoms, but rather than following the normal protocol of referring them to temporary shelter — most often in Montreal, as the majority are arriving in Quebec — alternative accommodation is being arranged to account for the voluntary isolation period.

Details on that were not immediately available.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

“We are doing this because we believe it is necessary and in the best interest of keeping all Canadians healthy and safe,” he said.

Conservative immigration critic Peter Kent said it made no sense to allow the asylum seekers to continue to enter the country.

“This is the perfect time to close the gaping Safe Third Country loophole and apply (the) same restrictions at irregular crossings as at formal border posts,” Kent said on Twitter.

The Bloc Quebecois, meanwhile, renewed its call for the Liberal government to shut down informal entry points, such as the Roxham Road crossing between New York and Quebec, to slow the rate of infection.

The decision by the federal government to effectively close the Canadian border is expected to have major implications for the immigration system, which had hoped to welcome upwards of 340,000 new permanent residents this year, including 31,700 refugees.

But, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration announced Tuesday they’re temporarily suspending their resettlement programs going forward, given the international disruption to travel.