OTTAWA—The tide of migrants crossing into Quebec in search of asylum has grown into a rolling wave, as the federal and provincial governments face pressure to deal with thousands of newcomers who have arrived in just the past six weeks.Newly released figures show the number of people crossing into the province has skyrocketed this summer. The RCMP intercepted nearly 3,000 people as they walked across the border in Quebec last month. A further 3,800 have come in the first half of August, the RCMP said.That’s a big jump from June, when there were 781 RCMP interceptions in the province. It’s also more than 10 times the 245 people intercepted by police there in January.Speaking to reporters Thursday in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced the government will open a new shelter for migrants in Cornwall, a city of 46,000 in eastern Ontario near the Quebec border. Hundreds of asylum seekers crossing from the U.S. have already been housed in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, as well as in emergency tents set up at the border by the Canadian military.Garneau also said there would be 20 new staffers in Montreal to help process asylum applications and that there will be a ministerial task force, which includes Quebec’s immigration minister, Kathleen Weill, her federal counterpart, Ahmed Hussen, and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, to help manage the situation.“There’s no crisis, but it’s a situation that is extraordinary but is very well-managed,” Garneau said in French.“We actually responded very quickly under the circumstances… One cannot anticipate this kind of event, but one must respond.”The moves come as opposition critics continue to slam the government for being ill-prepared to deal with the rising number of people walking into Canada from the U.S. this year — many of them travelling through the country from all over the world, claimin ...
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