2012 law to handle illegal border crossers sits idle as calls for action persist
OTTAWA — Provisions enacted by the previous Conservative government to handle illegal border-crossers are gathering dust as pressure persists on the Liberals for a response to waves of new asylum seekers.
But even as the Conservatives, now in Opposition, insist the government do something to deal with an influx of people improperly crossing into Canada to seek asylum, they’ve stopped short of calling for their own particular law to be the one enforced.
And in doing so, they’ve markedly shifted their tone from the days many Conservatives rushed to paint all illegal border-crossers as bogus asylum claimants eager to take advantage of Canadians.
“I’m very touched by what I’m looking at,” said Quebec Conservative MP Gerard Deltell of the images of people coming across the border in the freezing cold, being assisted by the Mounties.