Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has emphasised the importance of conducting a thorough investigation to uncover the truth behind the tragic incident on the US-Canada border that claimed the lives of eight individuals from two families of Romanian and Indian origin.
He has also advised against making assumptions about the possible causes of the event. The two families were attempting to enter the US from Canada illegally and drowned in the St Lawrence River.
The bodies of the deceased were found in a marsh on the riverbank near Akwesasne, a community that spans Quebec, Ontario, and New York state.
The Indian victims have been identified by their kin in India as Pravin Chaudhary (50), Dakshaben Chaudhary (45), their daughter Vidhi (23), and son Met (20).
It is too soon to draw connections between the tragedy in Akwesasne and the recent closing of the illegal border crossing at Roxham Road, Trudeau and Quebec premier Francois Legault said on Tuesday (4).
Some refugee and immigration defence groups have said stricter border policies, recently announced by the federal government under pressure from Quebec and the other provinces, could be a factor pushing new arrivals to seek yet more ways to travel under the radar.
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters gathered in front of Canadian Public Safety Minister office in Toronto on Tuesday demanding an end of an asylum treaty between Canada and the US.
The deaths come less than two weeks after the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) pact was amended, allowing refugee claimants to seek asylum in the first safe country they arrive in.
Protesters presented a petition to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, whose ministry is responsible for border patrol and policing in Canada.
Syed Hussan, the executive director of Migrant Workers Alliance, the group which organized the protest, said the petition had thousands of signatures calling for the end of STCA and demanding permanent resident status for all migrants.
"People are continuing to die. The denial of permanent residence status has become a death sentence in this country," Hussan added.
STCA, which took effect in 2004, aimed to control the migration of asylum seekers. Under the original agreement, asylum seekers trying to cross from the United States into Canada or vice versa at formal border crossings are turned back and told to apply for asylum in the first "safe" country they arrived in.
As refugees started to enter in Canada from irregular crossing, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came under pressure to amend the agreement to cover the entire length of the U.S-Canada border.
Critics say this policy separates families and pushes immigrants to try to cross the border via deadly informal routes.
(Agencies)
