Thank you, Madam Chair.
Honourable members of parliament, the Alliance des Burundais du Canada is honoured to testify before this committee today on such an important and vital issue for people in difficult and even distressing situations at a point in their lives. Asylum claimants have started using Roxham Road in Quebec en masse in hopes of finding a home in Canada, and for some time now, their numbers have been steadily increasing at the point of entry.
Some people believe that the government is lax at the point of entry, while others believe that there is a disturbing humanitarian situation that Canada cannot turn its back on. Unfortunately, there has never been a conclusive debate about the causes of this massive influx of asylum seekers, nor about what response would be appropriate and in line with Canada's responsibilities to protect asylum seekers.
All candid observers, as well as migrant and asylum-claimant rights organizations, including the Alliance des Burundais du Canada, agree that this situation stems from the protection system for asylum seekers in the United States, which has been broken for a number of years. Delays are also causing huge problems, which contribute to putting asylum seekers in an untenable situation on a human level.
Most of the asylum seekers who have taken Roxham Road have lived in the United States and claimed asylum there, but have waited for a response without seeing a way out at the end of the tunnel. We must never lose sight of the fact that these asylum seekers are, for the most part, mothers, fathers and children who left their home countries alone, believing that they could be reunited with their family once they are welcomed in a new country. Unfortunately, after arriving in the United States, the uncertainty of the protection system puts them in limbo and they become another source of problems.
Unfortunately, there is testimony that these claimants who have been turned away at the Canadian border are sometimes put in detention in the United States, further complicating their situation.
If Canada were to close Roxham Road without a tangible alternative to address the problem of asylum seekers at an impasse, it would be using its geographic location to partially escape its responsibilities to protect asylum seekers.
As has been reported in the past, desperate asylum seekers sometimes take unfortunately perilous paths, risking their lives. Some even die.
It is the untenable situation in which these asylum seekers find themselves that has provoked the debate over the controversy surrounding the Safe Third Country Agreement.
We applaud the efforts of the federal government, which has established basic infrastructure just off Roxham Road to care for these asylum seekers and continues to help refugees in general better integrate. While additional efforts are still needed to accommodate these claimants, we encourage any action that moves toward practical solutions, rather than action that would worsen the living conditions of these already vulnerable claimants.
For example, more resources should be allocated to the RCMP, the Canada Border Services Agency and all relevant agencies to support more effective and safe work. Hearings could also be granted much more quickly to claimants, especially those who qualify, so that they can access the labour market.
On the other hand, there is evidence that claimants who have come through Roxham Road and have been well accommodated as refugees are integrating well into society and actively participating in the advancement of our country in the same way as other citizens.
When faced with facts, we—