With an increased focus on border security, communities on the Canada-U.S. frontier like Emerson, Man., are experiencing a type of scrutiny they haven’t seen for a number of years.
David Carlson, reeve of the RM of Emerson-Franklin, told Global Winnipeg the increased attention on the area — which includes Black Hawk helicopters patrolling the skies, plus RCMP and conservation officers keeping a watchful eye — is ultimately a good thing.
“Obviously there’s a Black Hawk helicopter flying around now, and that’s very welcome — it’s another layer of security for the border here,” Carlson said.
“And then with the conservation officers, that’s also welcome because we know that RCMP are overstretched, not only our local detachment.”
Carlson said the security ramped up around the election of U.S. President Donald Trump — similar to Trump’s first term in 2017 — amid concerns about migrants crossing illegally into Canada. It’s a big change from what Carlson calls more “sporadic” interactions with migrants in recent years.
A change to asylum rules — which now require a refugee claimant from the U.S. to be in Canada for 14 days before making a claim to avoid being sent back under the Safe Third Country Agreement — has also changed the playing field.
“It would just be the odd call … I wouldn’t say non-existent, but very rare. Now it’s becoming a little more frequent.
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“Right now, because of the difference with 14-day asylum, the folks that are crossing now aren’t wanting to be detected. In 2017, they were coming right into town and wanting to surrending to authorities, but now they’re trying to evade detection, so it’s a little different.
“They’re now in far more remote areas, so we’re getting calls further out into wilderness-type areas.”
Jay Ihme with the municipality’s fire and rescue organization said there has definitely been a shift in activity, and it can be dangerous for emergency personnel as well as the migrants
themselves.
“In 2017-2018 people started coming in larger numbers, and it was more difficult then due to the fact we had to go look for them,” Ihme told Global Winnipeg.
“In the early days, it was combing through fields trying to find people half-frozen in the middle of nowhere — close to town, but still in the middle of nowhere.
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Ihme said in his experience, the migrants have overwhelmingly cited concerns over Trump’s election as the reason for fleeing to Canada.
“According to the people we’re taking — and of course, they’re afraid for their lives — they’re afraid of Mr. Trump. Now that he has been elected, they just don’t want to wait for him to do something.”
Ihme said the increased security has definitely become a subject of conversation and concern among some area residents, but ultimately, he supports the measures.
“I believe it’s good. It is our country, it has to be kept secure, and we should have some say on who comes in — not denying anyone, but there’s due process and we have to use that process to vet everyone and make sure everyone’s OK.”
