Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary misses the point entirely. The whole thing about the safe third country agreement is precisely that the U.S. is supposed to be a safe country for asylum seekers. The fact that it is not is why many of them are trying to cross at irregular crossings to come to Canada.
In fact, Seidu Mohammed, an asylum seeker who crossed into Emerson, Manitoba, lost eight fingers due to extreme weather. His claim was denied by the United States for the same reasons highlighted in the Harvard University and Canadian law student reports urging the suspension of the agreement: there was punitive immigration detention and no access to counsel. The fact is that the individual felt it was not safe.
That is why the safe third country agreement needs to be suspended if we are going to make a difference in addressing this issue.