About 100 soldiers help with the crush of asylum seekers at Quebec border
SAINT-BERNARD-DE-LACOLLE, Que. — Teams of Canadian soldiers stretched canvas across the metal frames of tents at a camp site near the Quebec-U.S. border Wednesday as they helped fellow authorities cope with the crush of asylum seekers crossing into Canada.
The site, located on a flat stretch of grass behind the building where asylum claimants are bused in from the border, was expected to accommodate up to 500 people.
“We have about 100 personnel here on the ground who will set up 25 tents in order to house approximately 500 people,” Maj. Yves Desbiens said in an interview in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle.
“We’re going to set up lighting as well, and heating and we’re going to have flooring installed.”