In the last two years, the RCMP has spent over $6.6 million towards processing illegal border crossers.
To deal with the constant flow of migrants crossing into Canada illegally, the RCMP has had to create a satellite office where officers work around the clock. In some cases, officers have processed over 400 migrants during a single day.
In 2018, the RCMP saw 19,419 migrants who crossed the border into Canada illegally. A majority of those took place along Canada’s border into Quebec.
“Between January 1 and December 31, 24,980 asylum claims were presented in Québec, of which 75.3% were submitted by people who entered irregularly. Since the beginning of 2018 and up to August 31, 2018, 18,145 asylum claims were submitted in Québec, compared to 15,055 claims during the same period in 2017,” claimed the latest update on the province’s webpage.
“Irregularly” is the federal government’s Orwellian term for “illegally.”
Of the total RCMP costs, $4.4 million was put towards overtime pay, $2 million was spent on a satellite office, $78,568 on extra staff, $72,487 for bus transportation, $17,468 on food and supplies, and $900 for child car seats.
Upon crossing the border illegally, migrants are arrested, they have their identification checked and are they, along with their belongings, are immediately searched. Afterwards they must undergo an interview process before being released and allowed to live freely into Canada.
One of the main crossing points into Canada is at Roxham Road, near Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebec.
During the past few years, migrants have undergone this security procedure in temporary shelters at Roxham Road, including in trailers and makeshift tents. Now, the RCMP is seeking to build a larger steel-panel building with heating and better insulation. The cost of building this new structure has not yet been announced.
At one point, the army was even called in to build a temporary tent village in the area in order to accommodate all the migrants entering at this illegal crossing point.
This $6.6 million spent by the RCMP is only scratching the surface of the border crisis costs and what is incurred to deal with the initial stages of admitting illegal border crossers.
According to estimates by the Parliamentary Budget Office, processing refugees will cost taxpayers upwards to $1.1 billion over the next three years.
The federal government has also been handing out paycheques to residents living in the vicinity who have been negatively affected by the steady flow of migrants.
One woman was awarded $25,000 in financial compensation for dealing with an increase in traffic and noise.
Illegal crossings into Canada continues with show no signs of stopping or slowing down.
