Private Criminal Prosecution Filed Against Trudeau Over Illegal Roxham Road Border Crossings

The end of Roxham Road, where thousands of asylum seekers have crossed, seen in Hemmingford, Que., on March 20, 2020. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

A well-known historian and head of a Quebec-based activist group is launching a private criminal prosecution against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who he says violated the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act by encouraging refugees to come to Canada, which has resulted in an increased inflow of illegal immigrants.

Frédéric Bastien, chair of Justice pour le Quebec, said past remarks made by the prime minister prompted many asylum seekers to illegally cross into Canada through the Roxham Road border point that connects Quebec and New York state.

In a legal document posted on the website of Justice pour le Quebec, the group points to a 2017 Twitter post in which Trudeau said: “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength.” The tweet was made after then-U.S. president Donald Trump issued a temporary travel ban for seven Muslim-majority countries and suspended entry of all Syrian refugees into the country.

The document then cited an article published by Radio-Canada on Dec. 17, 2021, saying that subsequent to “the messages of openness sent by Justin Trudeau, a wave of thousands of migrants flocked to Canada via this route [Roxham Road]” since 2017.

The Quebec group also cited the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which says in article 117 that “[no] person shall organize, induce, aid or abet the coming into Canada of one or more persons knowing that, or being reckless as to whether, their coming into Canada is or would be in contravention of this Act.”

In Canada, an individual has the right to initiate a private prosecution against another person. The person who applies to have charges laid by a court, known as the “informant,” must have reasonable grounds to believe that the person they are accusing has committed a crime or has violated a Canadian law that can be prosecuted privately. The application must be reviewed by a Justice of the Peace.

In an interview with the National Post, Bastien said that he believes he has reasonable grounds to launch the prosecution, which if successful, could result in the prime minister being subject to a fine or even imprisonment.

Aside from Trudeau’s 2017 tweet, Bastien also pointed to Trudeau’s more recent comments, which suggest that closing the irregular crossing at Roxham Road would not stop the arrival of asylum-seekers and that migrants would simply “cross elsewhere.”

He noted that the prime minister is “not a normal citizen” who is voicing a personal opinion; instead, Trudeau’s public declarations have had real-life consequences, such as encouraging people to cross into Canada unofficially at Roxham Road.

Surging Number of Illegal Crossings

The recent death of a Montreal man who was allegedly trying to cross into the United States drew attention to the dangers of irregular border crossings, which appear to be on the rise on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

The man, identified as 44-year-old Fritznel Richard, had been trying to reach his family in the United States, Quebec provincial police said. His body was found on Jan. 4 in a wooded area in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, near Roxham Road.

The irregular border crossing of Roxham Road has been used by asylum-seekers who try to dodge the Safe Third Country agreement, which prevents Canada from accepting refugee claims of those who had first entered the United States.

Between January and November 2022, the RCMP intercepted roughly 34,800 people who tried to cross into Canada from the United States at unofficial ports of entry. In contrast, the total number of interceptions in 2021 was 4,246, when the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the closure of Roxham Road, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

In a recent report, the Journal de Montreal compiled data showing that a record number of 150,000 asylum seekers have entered Canada since Trudeau’s 2017 tweet. Of that number, 91,000 entered through Roxham Road.

A majority of Quebecers want Roxham Road closed, according to a 2022 Léger poll, which showed that 60 percent of respondents are in favour of the government stopping asylum-seekers crossing at the irregular point.

A poll commissioned by Bastien’s organization had a similar finding, showing that 68 percent of Quebecers strongly or moderately agree with that position, reported the National Post.

“I think that people are actually very frustrated because this process is bypassing the law,” Bastien said. “There’s a way to actually migrate to Canada … if you’re a refugee, if you want to seek refugee status in Canada, we have some laws, we have some rules in this country.”

“What is going on now is that basically the government is helping people to violate the rules to bypass the law,” he added. “The more that goes on, the more frustrated people get.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.