Mobile processing units available if needed at Emerson crossing

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This article was published 19/04/2018 (2198 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The numbers of asylum seekers crossing near Emerson has risen since the start of the year, though officials stress the numbers are nowhere near the dozens reported a year ago.

In March, 53 people crossed on foot into Canada to claim asylum status near Emerson, while 19 others crossed in the first 10 days of April, according to data the RCMP shared with the Free Press on Friday.

That’s a slight rise from the 18 interceptions the RCMP made in January, and the 31 recorded in February. The numbers are a far cry from the spike of 170 crossings near Emerson recorded in March 2017.

 

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Calvin Christiansen, the senior official in charge of how Ottawa responds to everything from earthquakes to terror attacks, said Friday that multiple federal departments and provincial officials have planned a series of scenarios for the Emerson crossing.

Border guards, immigration officials, police and the Manitoba government would scale up their staffing and resources based on how many people enter, explained Christiansen, director general of the Government Operations Centre.

“If we hit a certain point at which we would need to have more facilities or more options on-site, for example in Emerson, then the exercise works around that,” he said in a phone call with reporters.

Christiansen said that could include “short-term accommodation” at the border, if needed. He didn’t outline how many people crossing would trigger that measure.

The Immigration Department’s head of operations said Friday that officials have prepared “mobile processing units” that can be deployed if a high number of people make such crossings.

“We in fact have that capability specifically in Manitoba, because of the Emerson border crossing,” said Michael MacDonald.

The government is carefully handling the issue of asylum seekers, pledging more support for housing and social services after loud complaints from Quebec, where roughly 600 people crossed into Canada over the Easter long weekend.

The federal Conservatives have made the crossings a major part of their social-media outreach, posting criticism about the uptick in crossings on Facebook pages of Tory MPs like Ted Falk, who represents the Emerson area.

In the House of Commons this week, the Tories shouted “illegal” each time the government spoke about “irregular” entries. Those who enter Canada outside a regular border station are breaking the law, but can’t be prosecuted under international agreements if they immediately file an asylum claim and register with officials.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca