Discussions underway with Ottawa about border crossings: Goertzen

One day after nine people were detained trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border, Manitoba’s justice minister says ongoing discussions with the federal government are taking place over the security of the border.

“We need to ensure that we’re having people cross the border the right way, that they’re going through the right process, recognizing that there are international treaties involved as well,” Kelvin Goertzen said during a news conference on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, at approximately 4:50 a.m. officers with the US Border patrol were called to reports of a group in distress near Warroad, Minnesota. A Border Patrol spokesperson told CTV News that RCMP received a 911 call from one of the members of the group, who allegedly made an illegal crossing near Sprague, and ended up in a flooded bog. The group was rescued and taken to the hospital.

Agents with the US Customs and Border Protection rescue a group of migrants who illegally crossed the Canada-U.S. Border near Warroad, Minnesota. (source: US Customs and Border Protection)

The men ranged in age from 19 to 46 years old, and seven of them were citizens of Mexico. The Border Patrol said seven are now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while two migrants remain in hospital.

The Border Patrol said all nine men did not have documents to legally be in the United States.

Agents with the US Customs and Border Protection rescue a group of migrants who illegally crossed the Canada-U.S. Border near Warroad, Minnesota. (source: US Customs and Border Protection)

Goertzen said the province has been involved with patrolling areas near the border, but responsibility generally falls under the Canada Border Services Agency.

He adds he wants the federal government to ensure that people are crossing properly.

“At this stage of the year, we’re still not out of the grips of winter, so there’s risk, as we saw last year,” Goertzen said, referring to the incident where a family of four froze to death while trying to cross near Emerson.

“Individuals who are crossing in an irregular way, there can be significant harm. We need to ensure that people are using the border in the right way, and when they’re claiming a variety of statuses coming into Canada or crossing the other way, that it’s done in the appropriate way.”

Goertzen says irregular border crossings have been a concern for a number of years in Canada, and said he expects the federal government to ensure the border is being used appropriately.