What's happening is tragic. People are crossing fields of snow in -20°C weather. That should not be happening.
We need to look at the safe third country agreement, so that people are able to access help right at our borders, rather than having to cross through fields to get here. We should not be fearful of people who want to come to our country and are willing to make those kinds of sacrifices to make it to our borders. If they are making those sacrifices to get here, we should welcome them with open arms.
We need to have supports available when they get here. The existing programs in place, places like Welcome House, are finding they don't have the capacity to meet the need. We know that in Minneapolis alone, which is the nearest major centre across the border from Winnipeg, there are 23,000 people who come from one of the seven countries that are being targeted by the executive order in the United States. We don't have the capacity to deal with them. Just last weekend, there were 22 people who came across. We need more capacity here.