Cornwall officials seek answers on arrival of Haitian asylum seekers
CORNWALL, Ont. — Municipal politicians in this eastern Ontario community said Monday they were frustrated at the paucity of information from the federal government over an influx of Haitian asylum seekers crossing to Canada from the United States.
“There are mixed feelings in our community on what we think they should be doing and shouldn’t be doing,” said Cornwall Mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy at a special meeting Monday evening to give municipal leaders an update on the arrival of hundreds of Haitian refugees the federal government has decided to send to their town.
About three dozen local residents overflowed the tiny Cornwall council chamber to hear an update from officials from the Immigration Department and the Canada Border Services Agency, as well as their own local representatives.
O’Shaughnessy appeared less than enthusiastic by the answers from the senior federal officials from the departments, and called on them to return to Cornwall to answer questions from the public directly.