Juno News - November 17, 2025
Feds fail to meet border targets for third year
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Summary
The Conservative immigration critic is calling for transparency from the Liberals on their plan for over 3 million temporary residents in Canada. The Liberal government is under fire after failing to meet its performance targets at the border for the third year in a row. Conservative MP Jamil Javani and Ned Kirk hosted a Restore the North event at the Canadian Christian College in Whitby, Ontario on Wednesday.
Transcript
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The Liberal government is under fire after failing to meet its performance targets at
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the border for the third year in a row. Attendees of Conservative MP Jameel Javani and Ned Kirk's
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quote Restore the North events on campus are praising the open dialogue spurred on by the
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MPs. The Conservative immigration critic is calling for transparency from the Liberals on
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their plan for over 3 million temporary residents in Canada. Hello Canada, it's Monday November 17th
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and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Isaac Lamoureux. I'm Willie Tantem. We've got you covered
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with all the news you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North
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exclusives you won't hear anywhere else. The Liberal government is facing heavy fire from
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federal Conservatives after Canada's Border Security Agency failed to meet its key performance targets
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for the third year in a row, raising serious concerns about the state of immigration enforcement.
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The Conservative Party on Friday blasted the Liberals for quote failing to deliver on Prime
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Minister Mark Carney's promise to quote secure our border, citing CBSA departmental results that show
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a sharp decline in national security screening and enforcement outcomes. The CBSA report reads quote
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the immigration national security screening program is facing pressures due to increasing volumes and new
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demands. In 2024-25, only 12.9% of national security recommendations were completed within the
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service standard, down from 27% the previous year and far short of the 80% target. According to the
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Conservatives, this failure allows quote bad actors to remain in Canada, while border officials struggle
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with growing caseloads. The number of foreign nationals flagged for removal has jumped by 77%,
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yet only 71% of those deemed inadmissible and without known impediments were actually removed. The third
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consecutive year the Liberals missed their removal target. On trade enforcement, CBSA also fell behind.
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Just 51% of importers potentially subject to anti-dumping duties were verified for compliance,
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well below the 80% standard. Only 48% of trade appeals were resolved within the service standard,
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compared to 70% two years earlier. The Conservatives said quote,
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by failing to meet security screening targets and ensure bad actors are deported,
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the Liberals' reckless immigration system and broken border make Canadians less safe.
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So, Waleed, what else did Conservatives criticize the Liberal government for as a result of this report?
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Well, Isaac, as you know, the security of the border agenda is part of the national security agenda,
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and of course on national security. The government has also had a number of other concerns that the
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opposition has made clear they are failing on. So, for example, on the border itself, they're looking
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at the promise that was promised a few months ago by the Liberal government on hiring 1,000 new border
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agents. It became news last month when Public Safety Minister Gary Ananasangri admitted that the
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government hadn't even completed the staffing plan or even identified a timeline for hiring the officers.
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So we don't know if those are actually 1,000 new border agents or bureaucrats and other kinds of
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staff and employees that are part and parcel of the CBSA and may not actually be agents deployed to
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border crossings at all. And of course, that plan, or lack thereof, is a concern as well.
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The party, Conservatives that is, have also criticized the government's priorities pointing to the $742
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million budgeted for the Liberals' gun compensation program. And yes, it's a gun compensation program,
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mandatory, not voluntary. And the money, they say, the Conservatives could have been used to hire
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Conservative MP, Jamil Javani and Ned Kirk's, quote, Restore the North free speech event is being
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hailed by participants for achieving what seems impossible today, bringing people together for real,
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honest dialogue, just like in the good old days. Javani and Kirk hosted a Restore the North event at the
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Canadian Christian College in Whitby, Ontario on Wednesday, and several attendees were grateful for
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the opportunity to share their opinions and ask questions to setting MPs. Javani opened the event
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by asking attendees what they think needs to be done to restore the North. He first outlined how
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many Canadians feel the country is no longer welcoming to business, Canadian culture is endangered,
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and the economy is failing many, especially young people, who have abandoned the hope of ownership.
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Javani and Kirk spent the two-hour event answering questions from anyone who wished to come up to
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the microphone and be heard. Questions ranged from restoring Canada's sovereignty and not being
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beholden to international bodies such as the World Health Organization, World Economic Forum,
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and the United Nations, to healthcare, the economy, gun rights, and free speech.
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One attendee even debated Javani disagreeing with his stance on government-sanctioned euthanasia.
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Opa Fifle Hope, a breast cancer survivor and podcaster living in Scarborough, attended the event.
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She spoke about the importance of restoring a shared Christian culture in Canada,
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and the need for conservatives and Christians to end their support with what she viewed as
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quote, Trojan horses in a movement, or quote, fake conservatives, such as Ontario Premier,
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Doug Ford. Favel Hope told Trudeau in an interview, quote, For some reason,
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conservatives in Ontario are refusing to look in the mirror and see what they are. The reason why Canada
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is falling, Alberta is doing their part. That is why Alberta wants to leave, because you get fed up
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of carrying the heavy lift. Doug Ford is a Trojan horse for the progressive liberal movement.
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So Isaac, what were the attendees saying about the event itself? Why has it received such a positive
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reaction from attendees? Yeah, Waleed. So attendees described the event as meaningful because it
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gave them a rare opportunity for direct, unfiltered discussion with sitting MPs. People repeatedly
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emphasized that being able to walk up to a microphone and ask any question they wanted to
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was what made the night stand out, especially compared to the highly managed political events
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they are used to. Several participants highlighted that the MPs were willing to hear every viewpoint,
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including strong disagreements. You mentioned the attendee that openly challenged Jamil Giovanni
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on his position on government-approved euthanasia, and that exchange continued respectfully despite
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the disagreement. So that willingness to allow debate rather than avoid it was something attendees
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pointed to as a major strength of the event. Other attendees praised the level of attentiveness from
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the MPs. For example, they told True North, the attendees did, that they felt their opinions were
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genuinely listened to, not treated as a formality or box-ticking exercise. They said the MPs engaged
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directly with what was being said, rather than steering the conversation around uncomfortable
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topics. Some attendees described the format as reminiscent of the way political engagement
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used to feel years ago. People told True North that the open mic style, the candid tone, and the lack
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of filtering felt familiar to earlier eras of political discussion. They viewed the event as an example of how
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political conversations once unfolded in Canada, face-to-face, unscripted, and without the polarization
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that now dominates national debates. Participants also said they valued hearing questions from other
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community members. They noted that the conversation covered a broad range of issues, from sovereignty
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to healthcare to economic concerns and cultural identity, and that the MPs allowed every topic to be
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raised without restricting discussion. MP Jamil Giovanni told True North that what stood out most to him
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was the energy in the room and the high level of engagement from attendees. He said people constantly
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expressed appreciation for the opportunity to speak directly with their elected representatives,
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and that this feedback is one of the reasons he plans to continue holding similar events, including
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upcoming sessions on university and college campuses. MP Ned Keurig said people are often surprised by how
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open the conversations are, and he uses those moments to reinforce, that the intention is to genuinely hear what
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people think. But overall, attendees reacted positively because the event gave them direct access to
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elected representatives, allowed them to raise any topic they wished, and created a setting where their
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views were fully heard. All elements they say have become increasingly rare in Canadian political life.
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A Liberal MP on the Immigration Committee is sponsoring a petition that demands the government
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fast-track permanent residency and federal aid for temporary residents. Conservative immigration critic Michelle
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Rempel-Garner is calling for the Liberals to be transparent about their plan for the over 3 million
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temporary residents in Canada. Liberal MP Amandeep Sodhi has sponsored a petition to the House of Commons
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calling for realistic pathways to permanent residency for hundreds of thousands of temporary residents,
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including international students and foreign workers, as first reported by Black Locks Reporter.
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The petition also asks the government to fund dedicated guidance and community support programs
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for temporary residents facing status insecurity and distress. It asks the federal government to
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prioritize the needs and futures of temporary residents already living in Canada over increasing
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new immigration and to publicly recognize that temporary residents are not to blame for challenges in
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Canada's economy and social systems. Despite the recent immigration levels plan, government messaging remains vague
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and inconsistent Canada must provide clear timelines and realistic pathways to permanence for those who
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have already demonstrated their commitment to this country, the petition reads. Conservative immigration
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critic Michelle Rempel-Garner told True North that she is concerned the government will try to solve the
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backlogged immigration system by rubber stamping those waiting for approval or rejection. She noted there are
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still many unknowns regarding the Liberal government's immigration levels plan. She said similar points during a show
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They, rather than trying to send anybody back, they're probably some of those, that, that, that, that, that PR number is
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probably coming out of those pools. It could be that they, but I think more likely they're looking at the 300,000 person backlog.
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They're probably going to have to rubber stamp a bunch of those applications and find spots for those people somehow too.
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So, but I need, we need more detail and we need more clarity. There's been a lot of commentary on the fact
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that the government didn't provide clarity on what those spots were for. And I've also heard a lot of people,
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you know, who have been waiting in the queue to come to the country, uh, you know, through, through regular means,
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like sort of through the legal channels waiting for years going, wait a second, what is this?
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Um, but the fact that we didn't have that clarity in the levels, again, it, it tells me that they're,
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they're trying to solve problems of their own creation and it, and it's not necessarily matching
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those immigration levels with any sort of metrics on healthcare, jobs or housing. And that's really
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concerning and that's where we've got to hold the government to account on that.
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Rempel-Garner wants Soti to explain how the Liberals plan to provide enough housing,
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healthcare and jobs for migrants before discussing fast-tracking the over 3 million temporary
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residents currently residing in Canada on expired or other visas. Soti did not respond to True North's
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request for comment. So, Waleed, what else did Rempel-Garner bring up when reacting to this
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Liberal-sponsored petition that aims to make temporary residents already in the country permanent?
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Well, Isaac, Rempel-Garner's criticisms are really just resonating with Canadians right now because,
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of course, Canadians themselves are increasingly concerned about the levels of immigration we've had
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over the last couple of years because of their effects on the following. She mentioned
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unsustainable in terms of housing, healthcare and jobs, and the fact that Canada cannot support the
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numbers that are being brought in. And of course, by looking at the temporary residents right now,
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we have at least over 3 million temporary residents in the country, which is over 7% of Canada's
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population, which is far higher than that number was. I think it was around 2% 10 years ago,
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instead of 7%. So, what Rempel-Garner continued to focus on was the effects that this mass migration
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regime has on Canadian society. Of course, housing, healthcare, jobs are perennial election issues,
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and by mentioning the fact that this population would have an increasingly burdensome effect rapidly
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without providing any time for our systems to accommodate as well. Of course, Rempel-Garner has been
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the immigration critic for the past term, and she's been eyeing on critiquing the number of temporary
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residents that are even inside of the forecast for the future years. So, Rempel-Garner said,
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even the number of new temporary residents that the Liberals put in their most recent immigration
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levels forecast doesn't take into account that there are still 3 million people in the country
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that they have no plan to get to leave when their visa expires. So again, not only do we have the 3
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million, the upcoming levels, but we're also having this issue with deportations or removals. A lot of
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people in that list of temporary residents have expiring visas, some of which have expiring visas that have
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probably already expired or are about to expire in the short term. So again, with the recent report we
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covered a few days ago on the CBSA targets, as well as the report we published as well on the deportation
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challenges that the CBSA are facing, it seems to me that Rempel-Garner and other conservatives are looking
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to zone in on the fact that Liberals have failed to take a strong strategy on removals and a strong
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strategy on managing that temporary population. That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in.
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