TORONTO: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers faced questions in parliament on Tuesday a day after Reuters reported that Canada wants the legal authority to turn back thousands of asylum seekers crossing the border illegally. Under the Safe Third Country Agreement, or STCA, asylum seekers who arrive at a formal Canada-US border crossing going in either direction are turned back and told to apply for asylum in the first country they arrived in. But political opponents contrasted the Liberal government’s welcoming rhetoric with officials’ efforts to block asylum seekers. New Democratic Party critic Jenny Kwan slammed Canada’s efforts to turn back asylum seekers, calling the idea unfeasible and saying it would force border crossers underground. Many of the asylum seekers with whom Reuters has spoken said they would have remained in the United States were it not for Trump’s policies and rhetoric.

Source: Pakistan Today May 01, 2018 23:26 UTC