Provincial release:
NOTE: The following is a statement from Premier Tim Houston.
The federal government wants to send nearly 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia. This is simply unacceptable.
Nova Scotia does not have the capacity to accept thousands of asylum seekers. We cannot let the failure of federal policies derail our plan for strategic population growth. We have communicated to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet that any attempt to ship asylum seekers to Nova Scotia will be challenged.
My immigration minister will maintain open lines of communication with the federal government, but my position is firm – we are calling on the Trudeau government to drop the idea, listen to Nova Scotians and let us focus on our strategic and sustainable plan that is attracting the professionals, like doctors and nurses, our province needs.
We have a plan to strategically grow our population from immigration, migration and retention. Our immigration growth is strategic – focused on filling shortages in healthcare and trades. We must stick to this focused plan, aimed to fill strategic vacancies, and we ask that the federal government respect our plan.
Nova Scotians are caring, compassionate people, but we will not be taken advantage of by the federal government.