The heartbreaking situation highlights deeper border control issues between Canada and the U.S. according to migrant advocate Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change.
"The question we need to ask is, why are people fleeing Canada to go to the United States?" Hussan told CTV New Channel on Saturday. "Why are migrants not able to just live here with justice and dignity and equality?"
The people found in the river were part of two families, one of Romanian descent and the other of Indian origin. Police said Friday they were likely trying to enter the U.S. illegally. The bodies, which haven't been officially identified, were found in Tsi Snaihne (Snye) in Akwesasne, a Mohawk territory that straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
Hussan says people likely flee illegally across the border because they face difficulties accessing permanent residency in Canada, among other things.
"Prime Minister Trudeau in December 2021 at the start of this current mandate, promised permanent resident status for migrant students and workers and undocumented people," Hussan said. "Because he knows that that is the only way to ensure equal rights, 15 months later, we have not seen an inclusive regularization program."
He adds migrants will be less likely to flee if a path to permanent residency is created.
"People are being abused at work, exploited by landlords, separated from their families, denied health care, and a few of them are making this dangerous journey to the U.S. and are dying," he said.
Hussan is fearful the shocking news of migrant deaths will become normalized.
"What I'm scared of is that this will turn from news into current affairs," he said.
Recently, the U.S. and Canada agreed to end a loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement which means asylum seekers will be turned away at irregular border crossings like at Roxham Road in Quebec. Federal figures show more than 39,000 people claimed asylum after crossing into Canada by land in 2022, with most coming through Quebec.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside,' a call Johnston quickly rejected.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.
Amid interest rate hikes and high inflation, more Canadians are turning to credit for relief, with consumer debt hitting a new record in the first quarter of 2023.
It's that time of year again where MPs will be sitting until midnight until the House rises in late June, as the federal government pushes to pass as many bills as it can before the summer legislative hiatus. On Wednesday, Government House Leader Mark Holland announced that the Commons will be working late 'every single night … from here until the finish.'
Although bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, experts say there’s a significant lack of awareness surrounding whom it affects the most — statistically, men — and that the most common risk factor is smoking.
Canada will soon require health warnings to be printed directly on individual cigarettes, making it the first country to implement this kind of measure aimed at reducing tobacco usage.
Convicted murderer Daniel Jolivet, in prison for the past 30 years, has maintained his innocence since the day he was arrested. W5 reviews the evidence he painstakingly assembled while behind bars.
W5 Producer Shelley Ayres explains how she was in awe to meet what the Guinness Book of World Record's has named the World's Tallest Teenager, a 17-year-old from Quebec who plays for Team Canada.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
Gordie Sampson has written hit songs for some of the biggest names in country music, including Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan. CTV W5 speaks with the Grammy winner from small-town Nova Scotia about his creative process.
A CTV W5 investigation reveals that a critical shortage of volunteer firefighters in this country is having a potentially deadly impact, especially in rural Canada.
Sandie Rinaldo tells the story of the largest Black military unit in Canadian history, whose members had to fight to serve for Canada in the First World War as they faced rampant racism at home.
The leading candidates in the Toronto mayoral race are squaring off in a debate hosted by United Way Greater Toronto, The Toronto Star and Toronto Metropolitan University. We’ll be bringing you live updates here as the candidates face off.
Ontario Provincial Police have arrested a 21-year-old man from Ottawa in connection with the shooting deaths of two teens from Mississauga in Pembroke, Ont. A third teenager, also from Mississauga, was injured.
At a sentencing hearing in Brockville Wednesday, the Crown argued an 'exemplary sentence' was warranted for the OPP officer convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman and videotaping it.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside,' a call Johnston quickly rejected.
A sentencing hearing got underway for the Georgian Bay man convicted of driving impaired and causing a collision on Highway 12 in 2020 that claimed the life of a 77-year-old Midland man.
Huntsville OPP has charged a third girl in connection to an alleged assault captured on video at a local high school and shared on social media earlier this month.
Around six fire trucks, including an aerial truck, were on scene at a fire on Green Valley Drive in Kitchener on Wednesday afternoon after a fire that impacted multiple townhomes.
A 72-year-old from Kitchener has been charged with careless driving after a vehicle careened off Highland Road West and smashed through the backyards of three homes on Ralgreen Crescent on Tuesday afternoon.
Data collected from the regional EmployerOne Survey in January of this year showed that nonprofits have found it difficult to hire and retain qualified workers.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says reports a deal has been reached to secure the NextStar Energy EV battery plant in the city has him “cautiously optimistic that we’re tracking closer to a solution” — but says don’t get comfortable until it’s confirmed.
One year less a day after Quebec's Bill 96 came into force, a new legal challenge was filed Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse on behalf of six people.
Some communities in Quebec are expected to get record-high temperatures and Environment Canada has issued several weather warnings and watches for heat. Dr. Christopher Labos spoke to CTV News anchor Mutsumi Takahashi about heat and sunstroke and tips for preventing serious consequences in the sun.
Louise Avon, brutally murdered on March 31, 2022 in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts by her husband in the throes of a crack-induced psychotic delirium, might still be alive if Quebec hadn't "failed miserably in its role of protecting the public."
A Halifax roofing crew is being hailed as heroes for their actions Sunday, after springing into action and alerting neighbours when they spotted smoke and then a fast-moving wildfire in Upper Tantallon, N.S.
Seventeen people – most of whom are young students – were hospitalized after a falling from a height during a field trip at Winnipeg's Fort Gibraltar. However, many of the children are now being discharged and sent home, according to an update from the hospital.
The head of an LGBTQ group in central Alberta says he wasn't surprised a candidate who compared transgender students in schools to feces in food won her seat in Monday's provincial election, which saw the United Conservative Party win a majority government.
Alberta's re-elected premier says she plans to form a "council" of UCP candidates who lost in Monday's election to advise her on Edmonton issues, something her opponent made fun of Wednesday.
A man who slammed an Edmonton mother to the ground and strangled her outside of a downtown daycare in 2021 has had his nine-year prison sentence reduced to four years.
A B.C. man who stalked a woman he became "obsessed with" was convicted of 11 crimes including criminal harassment, attempted break-and-enter and "serial breaches" of no-contact conditions, according to a recently published judgment.
A 34-year-old man that was seriously injured in a fire that broke out in a Vancouver apartment earlier this week has died, officials confirmed Wednesday.
More horror stories are emerging from Surrey Memorial Hospital, as a series of public letters written by frontline staff continue to highlight the perils of staff shortages.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's efforts to assure Canadians that his government is adequately addressing the threat of foreign interference took a hit on Wednesday, when the majority of MPs in the House of Commons voted for special rapporteur David Johnston to 'step aside,' a call Johnston quickly rejected.
It's that time of year again where MPs will be sitting until midnight until the House rises in late June, as the federal government pushes to pass as many bills as it can before the summer legislative hiatus. On Wednesday, Government House Leader Mark Holland announced that the Commons will be working late 'every single night … from here until the finish.'
The federal government is looking to better protect cabinet ministers and MPs as the threats against them continue to grow, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday.
Statistics Canada says fewer fresh fruits and vegetables were available to Canadians in 2022, due to factors such as ongoing supply chain issues, labour shortages and price increases.
Although bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada, experts say there’s a significant lack of awareness surrounding whom it affects the most — statistically, men — and that the most common risk factor is smoking.
Facebook owner Meta Platforms said on Wednesday it would remove news content in its home state of California if the state government passed legislation forcing tech companies to pay publishers for journalistic content.
A third man has been charged in the 2002 shooting death of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay, prosecutors said Tuesday, marking the latest movement in a case that languished for years.
A jury found "That '70s Show" star Danny Masterson guilty of two out of three counts of rape Wednesday in a Los Angeles retrial in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) said Wednesday venture capital lending dropped in 2022 and is expected to remain slow as companies grapple with higher interest rates, a wave of tech layoffs and the fallout from the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank.
Hard-fought to the end, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial U.S. House vote as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent.
Locals call it "watermelon salad." But this delicacy popular in the southern Gaza Strip at this time of year is far from the sweet, refreshing taste the name evokes.
More than three years after COVID was declared a global pandemic, a new study is looking at how the international health crisis has changed the lifestyle habits of Canadians.
A 15-year-old soccer player has died after suffering severe brain injuries during a post-match brawl with an opposing team at an international youth tournament in Germany over the weekend, officials said Wednesday.
French Sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said Wednesday that Novak Djokovic's political message about Kosovo was 'not appropriate' and warned the former top-ranked Serb player that he should not do it again.
The U.S. government's auto safety agency plans to require that all new passenger cars and light trucks include potentially life-saving automatic emergency braking and meet stricter safety standards within three years.
Ever have a car with a difficult-to-reach seatbelt? This recall is for you. Ford is having to recall 176,000 of its Ford Bronco SUVs, model years 2021 to 2023, because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that drivers and front seat passengers can have difficulty reaching the metal portion of the belt when it is in the retracted position.
