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Canada declares war on bogus asylum seekers, LTTE ops to be targetedSeptember 28, 2011, 10:52 pm
Canada is pushing for tougher laws to cripple organized human smuggling operations carried out in several countries, including Sri Lanka. In spite of strong opposition by various NGOs involved in the lucrative human smuggling operations, the Canadian government is keen to introduce new laws as part of their overall measures to curb human smuggling.
The LTTE has abused Canadian laws to its advantage even after the conclusion of the conflict in May 2009. National Post carried the following piece by Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney in its Sept. 27 issue last week: The House of Commons began debating a bill to crack down on the dangerous crime of human smuggling.
Unfortunately, this bill has been widely misunderstood and even misrepresented by special interest groups, and by the opposition, who are effectively filibustering it. I am confident that when the hyperbole and inaccuracies are cleared away, Canadians will support the balanced approach the government is taking to address this threat to our generous immigration system.
Canada contributes generously to the United Nations refugee programme, which provides physical protection, food and medical care to genuine refugees at regional centres, while the United Nations processes their cases and prepares them for orderly travel to Canada and other countries that have committed to resettling them.
Canada receives more than one in 10 refugees resettled worldwide through this system. And, in 2010, the Harper government announced that, as part of our Balanced Refugee Reform Act, we would increase the number of resettled refugees by 20%, solidifying Canada’s position as the most generous recipient of resettled refugees in the developed world. Tens of thousands of refugees have come to Canada this way, including through our recent special programme to resettle Iraqi refugees and the Vietnamese ‘boat people’ 30 years ago.
Contrary to the propaganda of ‘No One Is Illegal’ and other radical organizations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has recognized that this resettlement program is the proper path for genuine refugees, not illegal human smuggling operations. Because human smugglers are concerned only with profit, and will happily exploit their ‘clients,’ whom they treat as little more than live cargo, Bill C-4 hits them where it hurts.
Bill C-4 creates a new offence for people involved in mass human smuggling operations, increases fines for boat owners to $1-million, and imposes mandatory sentences of 10 years for smugglers who endanger the lives of passengers for profit. The most misrepresented element of Bill C-4 is its detention provision. Taken out of context, ‘detention’ may sound harsh for the legitimate refugees who may be among the illegal arrivals.
But we believe that humane and temporary detention, which will last up to a year or until a refugee’s claim can be verified, is the only reasonable and responsible approach to the broader problem of human smuggling. Temporary detention means that people fleeing brutal persecution will be safe, with access to generous food, housing and medical care while their refugee claims are heard swiftly ‘ within three months after arrival under forthcoming changes to our asylum system. It also means the violent criminals and terrorists we know will be among the same group of arrivals will not be released into Canadian communities. This balanced approach is less stringent than the detention of virtually all illegal migrants in the United Kingdom, Australia and similar countries.
Bill C-4 is specifically designed to limit the pull factors for migrants who would abuse Canada’s generosity. One of the reasons migrants are willing to pay as much as $50,000 and risk a dangerous sea voyage is because, if they are able to get status in Canada, they can immediately turn around and sponsor their families and, eventually, extended families to come to Canada as well.
When family sponsorship is factored in, $50,000 can suddenly look like a pretty good investment. This is why Bill C-4 limits irregular migrants’ ability to sponsor family members for five years, and requires a review of their status at that time, before they are put on the path to citizenship.
Take a minute to think about the route the human smugglers took with the MV Sun Sea, a ship carrying 497 Tamils to Canada in 2010. Think of all the countries that were much closer and that would have been much less risky than a trans-pacific voyage in a rickety boat.
They could have gone to New Zealand, Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Fiji or even Hawaii. But they didn’t. They targeted Canada, halfway around the world. And, until we crack down on these human smuggling operations, they will continue to target us. Bill C-4 sends the message around the world that Canada will no longer be the world’s doormat. I therefore call on the opposition to join the government in standing on guard for Canada.