The MP for Portage-Lisgar says the Trudeau government is finally doing what it should have done long ago; fix the loophole in Canada's immigration law.

The federal Liberal government has announced formal talks to amend the Safe Third Country Agreement in the wake of a steady flow of asylum seekers coming into Canada from the U.S. over the last few years.

Conservative MP Candice Bergen says the issue of illegal border crossers has been ongoing for almost two years and it's taken that long for the federal government to finally address the problem.

"During that time they failed to even talk to the Americans about the issue and instead chose to call people names when they raised legitimate questions about this issue and spent hundreds of millions of dollars to facilitate these claims of illegal crossers who are coming from places like upstate New York and North Dakota. These are considered safe places in the U.S."

Under the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, refugee claimants who first arrive in the United States and then seek entry to Canada will likely be denied. Many claimants have been getting around that by crossing into Canada between official border points and then making asylum claims to avoid being being turned away.

Bergen says that is making things worse for true asylum seekers who have gone through all the legal requirements to come to Canada.

"The Trudeau government has mismanaged the situation so badly that our immigration system has actually been compromised and some of the world's most vulnerable, who are true refugees and who are waiting to come to Canada, have been put at the back of the line. One hopes the Liberals have finally seen the error of their ways and are going to fix this."

Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair says he has sent a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security in the U.S. requesting discussions on how to change the agreement in an effort to address the issues at the border.