Montreal's new mayor says Safe Third Country Agreement needs to be revisited

Montreal's incoming mayor wants Canada to take another look at the Safe Third Country Agreement as authorities prepare for another wave of asylum seekers who have been flooding into Canada illegally from the United States.

"We need to review that for sure," Valérie Plante told CBC Radio's The House.

"If you want to come into a country, you should go through the official border agency, the right way. I do not think the way it's going on right now makes sense."

• Valérie Plante elected mayor of Montreal, beating out Denis Coderre
• ​MPs prepare to head south to dissuade asylum seekers in U.S. from heading north once protected status expires

The Safe Third Country Agreement requires asylum seekers to apply for refugee status in the first country they arrive in, either Canada or the U.S.

Under the deal people who have clamed asylum in the U.S., but then try to do the same in Canada at an official point of entry, are turned back before they can enter Canada. However, a loophole in the agreement allows asylum seekers to have their claims processed if they make them once they are already in the country. That loophole has led to thousands of migrants crossing into Canada at unofficial border crossings, under sometimes dangerous conditions, to make their claims. 

Concerns that more asylum seekers will try to enter Canada illegally have grown after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted last week that his administration would end temporary protected status, which allows refugees to stay in the U.S. while their home countries recover from disasters, for refugees from countries including Honduras and Nicaragua.

"We know there's gonna be another wave, there's gonna be more people coming in... there has to be a better way to manage that," said Plante, who takes over the mayor's office on Wednesday.

Plante noted that although she didn't discuss the issue in her first conversation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just after she was elected, illegal border crossings into Canada will certainly be on the agenda the next time she sits down with him.

Building bridges

Albertans might be celebrating Denis Coderre's stunning loss since the former Montreal mayor was a vocal opponent of TransCanada's Energy East Pipeline, which was cancelled last month.

But the mayor-elect's stance on energy isn't all that different than her predecessor. Plante said she was opposed to Energy East and that she doesn't support any west to east pipeline that would go through Montreal at the moment.

Instead, she said she's more interested in building bridges between levels of government and keeping an open mind on the energy issue.

"I personally come from a city [in northern] Quebec where resources was the main way of getting economical development. So I do understand that for Alberta, this is their reality. They have to look at how they can grow their economy," Plante said.

"What I've been saying is if there [are] other projects, of course we will be listening and talking, and to me having this conversation and being connected, understanding what's going on," she added.

"I don't want to have a closed mind…I'm definitely willing to listen."