Madam Speaker, when I rose in the House on May 31, it was to mark a tragedy. It had been reported in the news that a woman had died attempting to make the irregular crossing from the United States into Canada around Emerson, Manitoba.
Since that time, we have seen irregular crossings continue. Up to the end of September, a total of just over 15,000 individuals have been intercepted at irregular crossings. Through regular and irregular entries to Canada, there have been upwards of 35,000 asylum claims filed in Canada this year alone.
Today, the government tabled the immigration levels plan for 2018. In its multi-year plan, the government has shown once again that it is failing to treat the current asylum claim trend seriously. The 2018 plan increases the target for protected persons in Canada and dependants abroad only by 1,000, to 16,000. This target includes those crossing regularly and irregularly.
As reported, there is currently an acceptance rate of 69% for asylum claims that have come before the IRB by irregular crossers. Should that trend continue or even if that rate decreases marginally, the targets put forward by the government today have no basis in reality.
There is nothing to suggest that asylum claims to Canada will be reduced over the next three years. There are 65 million people globally who are forcibly displaced. There is no sign that the current anti-immigrant and anti-refugee rhetoric and policy in the United States will improve.
When I spoke with the IRB chairperson in the spring, it was clear then and it is clear now that rhetoric and those policies are helping drive people from the United States to Canada. Experts on the matter have been clear since January. The issues in the U.S. asylum system such as lack of access to legal counsel impact a person's ability to build his or her case, resulting in legitimate claims being denied. We now know this to be true. Sixty-nine per cent of irregular crossing claims have been accepted in Canada so far.
Let me remind the parliamentary secretary of Seidu Mohammed. He lost most of his fingers to frostbite making the crossing. He was put in immigration detention by the United States. He was unable to adequately prepare for his asylum hearing. His claim was denied. In Canada, he was able to adequately prepare. As a member of the LGBTQ community from Ghana, he faced a serious threat of persecution and violence on the basis of his identity. His claim was accepted.
He was just one case of those 69% of successful claims. I have been informed of the details of other similar cases as well.
Why has the government been so reluctant to proactively deal with this situation? On what basis do the Liberals believe that levels announced for this category of claim are realistic? Are we going to be turning away legitimate refugees as a result of the government's failure to act?