Manitoba has second-highest number of asylum seekers crossing border: federal government

The federal government released new information Monday on the number of asylum seekers crossing the border on foot into Canada.

Manitoba is still seeing the second-highest number of crossings after Quebec, according to the new data. The numbers show 146 people crossed the border in April, which is down from March.

The data says there have been 477 asylum claims and RCMP interceptions in Manitoba so far this year.

Emerson-Franklin Municipality Reeve Greg Janzen said the numbers seem low compared to his own calculations, which he believes should be around 160 for the month of April.

Scott Bardsley, a spokesperson for Ralph Goodale, the minister overseeing the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency, told CTV News the government is being very transparent with the numbers.

“As we have noted, the number of asylum claimants fluctuates over time, is largely unpredictable and represents only a small portion of newcomers that arrive every year,” he said in new release Monday.

Bardsley said there’s also a difference between the number of RCMP interceptions, and the total of asylum claims made in the province.

According to federal numbers, there were 580 asylum claims processed by the CBSA and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada between January and April 2017. He said this number can include people who fly through an airport in another province and then travel to Manitoba.

He said there are also several exceptions to the safe country agreement. People with family can make a refugee claim at an official border crossing.

Janzen said in the first two weeks of April, the number of crossings were down near Emerson because he said asylum seekers were worried about flooding fields.

Janzen said after that crossings have increased and are continuing. Monday morning around 8:30 a.m. he got a call from a local resident near Arnaud, Man. who found a man seeking asylum about 30 kilometres from the border.

The Salvation Army, which operates a shelter for asylum seekers, has also had cases of people crossing the border who by passed RCMP and CBSA.

“The RCMP and CBSA are enforcing the law at our border and have contingency plans in place to address the evolving volume in the coming months,” Bardsley said.

“To be clear, trying to slip across the border is not a ‘free ticket’ to Canada. Any irregular border crossers are apprehended by police or local authorities. Identity checks are done from biometric and biographic data. Health checks are done. Their records are examined for any immigration, criminal, or security flags against domestic and international databases. Those who cannot be identified, are a flight risk or pose a danger to the public can be detained.”