Higgs doubles down on asylum seekers rhetoric in meeting with Fredericton council

Fredericton council's meeting with provincial party leaders was supposed to focus on municipal issues, but comments by the premier about asylum seekers lit fireworks at city hall Monday night.

While leaders from all three political partiesrepresented in the legislature spoke at the specialevent, Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs' commentsabout asylum seekers and their purported impact on the province's health-care system drew a sharp rebuke from Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers.

In a question and answer session after Higgs's speech, Rogers said the percentage of Fredericton residents without a primary care provider had jumped from 14 per cent to 33 per cent in four years, and she asked Higgs what the government was doing to attract more doctors.

"The increase in population would've had a huge impact on the number of patients that don't have family physicians. That's why with additional asylum seekers that would've added to your list if they moved here," said Higgs.

"I wish you would not deflect and constantly refer to asylum seekers. I find that offensive, personally," said Rogers.

"Wellyou may, your worship.However, the issue is real," said Higgs.

Last week in Moncton, the premiertold an audience that Ottawa was "considering a plan" to send 4,600 asylum seekers to the province.

Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller later called those comments "largely fictitious."

Higgshas also said asylum seekers are linked to the lack of housing in the province.

He said that while more housing was being built,the city would not be able to deal with a further influx of asylum seekers.

"You think that Fredericton could handle potentially 1,000 more people with no federal supports in place, no provincial supports in place?" said Higgs.

He did not address the impact on housing availability of people arriving through other immigration processes, or from Canadian residents moving to New Brunswick from other parts of the country.