Senator Miville-Dechêne: Unfortunately, Senator Gold, the Rainbow Railroad coalition is overwhelmed. As such, Nahid Modaressi, like other women in her situation, would like to apply for refugee status in Canada but does not have the means to take a plane to get to Canada because her visa was denied.

Is there a way for Ms. Modaressi to apply for refugee status in Canada from Turkey?

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Closing Roxham Road was undoubtedly inevitable. Like many others, however, I’m concerned about what happens next. One can’t help but notice the difference between how the 133,000 Ukrainian refugees have been treated and how the asylum seekers who arrive on foot at our borders are treated. Some have crossed a dozen countries to reach Canada.

Will closing the Roxham Road loophole cause more human misery or make it even worse? What means will desperate people use to enter Canada? It’s entirely understandable that the government would want to redirect migrants to institutional processes, but what are we going to do to ensure that these actions do not result in even greater tragedies?