Article content

The recent events in the United States, where law enforcement officers have separated children from parents entering the country illegally, have been undeniably disturbing to watch. The bipartisan backlash in America itself this week, thankfully, led the White House to commit to ending the family-separation policy. Now the Trump administration will need to focus on reuniting the minors with their families, which may prove challenging where insufficient records were kept.

The separation policy in the U.S. led to much international criticism, and deservedly so. But it was still a bit surprising hear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say this week that, “What’s going on in the United States is wrong. I can’t imagine what the families living through this are enduring. Obviously, this is not the way we do things in Canada.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or NP View: Canada's no better than America at dealing with immigrants. Just luckier Back to video

Photo by U.S. Customs and Border Protection/AP

First of all, at least in part, it is the way we do things: Canada does detain children, albeit alongside families (the U.S. recently did that, too, but the courts ordered that children be put in better conditions). That’s a meaningful difference, but we should not rest too easy on that particular laurel.