Trudeau condemns child separation policy
It’s World Refugee Day, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned for the first time the U.S. government’s policy of separating children from their families upon illegal border crossings.
“What’s going on in the United States is wrong. I can’t imagine what the families living through this are enduring,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa today.
“Obviously, this is not the way we do things in Canada.”
Trudeau’s is just one voice in an avalanche of condemnation against the U.S.’s recent policy of separating children and putting them in caged facilities. This afternoon, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would sign an executive order to end family separation at the border.
Meanwhile, refugee advocates have been calling on Trudeau to scrap the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement. The agreement’s premise is that asylum seekers can’t seek asylum in Canada by land, if they arrived in the U.S. first, and vice-versa. For now, the agreement remains.
“The United Nations has determined that, for asylum seekers, the United States remains a safe third country,” Trudeau said in the House of Commons earlier this week.
World Refugee Day statement
In honour of World Refugee Day, Trudeau also said the following in a released statement:
“Today, I ask Canadians and people around the world to stand with refugees, displaced people, and all those who are forced to leave home behind. How we treat the most vulnerable among us defines who we are — as individuals, as countries, and as a global community. Let’s choose justice over fear and compassion over division — because to see ourselves in each other, all we have to do is look.”
He added that Canada will lead on initiatives to promote human rights and improve living conditions of Rohingya refugees and those displaced by the conflict in Myanmar. Guided by the Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada has dedicated $300 million over the next three years to step up its response to this ongoing humanitarian crisis, with a particular emphasis on ensuring that the needs of women and girls are met.
“Women, girls, and other marginalized groups suffer different and disproportionate effects of conflict and displacement — and their empowerment is key to building lasting peace and prosperity. That is why, at the G7 Summit in Charlevoix earlier this month, Canada and partners announced a historic investment of nearly $3.8 billion in education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations.”