Canada will begin new measures to enforce border security. A new Entry/Exit Program with the United States will soon begin featuring collecting and sharing data of travellers entering and leaving the country.
The data will be shared with the U.S. as part of the Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan, following the passing into law of Bill C 21 in December 2018.
Data collection regulations are expected to come into force in June 2019 for overland travellers and June 2020 for travellers by air.
Canada and the U.S. are also conducting talks about altering the Safe Third Country Agreement, which many believe helps motivate asylum seekers to cross at unrecognized border points.
The current bilateral agreement means that an asylum seeker has to claim refugee status in the first 'safe' country at which they arrive.
Canada Border Security Minister Bill Blair confirmed: "There has been some discussion about how we might apply the agreement to those who present themselves at a place other than the border where there's clear evidence that they've come from the United States, that they were in a place that was, in fact, a safe third country, or if they've made application in the United States and they have legal travel documents in the United States."
Nearly 42,000 asylum seekers entered Canada from the U.S. between official ports of entry since 2017, with 96% of those crossing through rural Quebec through Roxham Road.
Figures show 19,419 asylum seekers were intercepted in 2018, compared to 20,593 in 2017. However, current figures for 2019 appear to show a decline in this trend.
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The content of this article reflects the personal insight of Attorney Colin Singer and needs no disclaimer