Dear Editor.
In a recent Conservative pamphlet from Red Deer-Lacombe MP Blaine Calkins, it uses the term “illegal crossings”.
What Mr. Calkins implies in his pamphlet, I believe, is that unless you have applied to immigrate to Canada from another country, you have no right to cross Canadian borders and to remain in Canada on a permanent basis.
At no time does he suggest that there could likely be good reasons to cross the Canadian border without the appropriate immigration documents, nor does he identify the reasons people seek to cross the Canadian border.
In fact, there are people without appropriate documentation crossing the Canadian border who have legitimate reasons for doing so.
Identifying the number of people and their reasons for coming to Canada without documentation, and the percentage of undocumented people found ineligible to stay in Canada, would be a helpful start for an intelligent discussion on this issue.
George Jason