Canada unveils law to curb illegal immigration
October 22, 2010 09:46 am
The Canadian government on Thursday unveiled legislation aimed at curbing illegal immigration and human smuggling by imposing stiff penalties and even detaining asylum seekers.
The arrival of two ships carrying illegal migrants over the past year “clearly
demonstrates that human smuggling networks are targeting Canada as a destination and that
they believe our generous immigration system can be exploited for profit,” said
Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.
“We will not tolerate the abuse of our immigration system, either by human
smugglers or by those who are unwilling to play by the rules,” he said.
The proposed amendments to Canada’s
immigration act would impose mandatory prison sentences on convicted human
smugglers and put smuggled people in mandatory detention for up to one year
while their backgrounds are checked.
They would bar illegal immigrants from applying for permanent residency for
five years and terminate refugee applications from people who return to their
country of origin for vacation or otherwise show they do not need Canada’s protection.
The rules would also hold ship owners and operators to account for the use of
their ships in human smuggling or other illegal immigration operations.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said this week his government was growing
increasingly “concerned” about “mass arrivals through human smuggling.”
In many cases, asylum seekers such as the hundreds who have arrived in the past
year on Canada’s
Pacific coast aboard two rickety cargo ships, are seeking to “jump the queue
and work around the system,” he said.
He warned these illegal arrivals risk undermining public support for Canada’s
immigration and refugee programs, and was echoed on Thursday by Immigration
Minister Jason Kenney.
“In Canada
we enjoy the highest level of public support for immigration and refugee
protection of any developed country in the world. But we have seen a
significant erosion of that support since the arrival of the last human
smuggling vessel,” said Kenney.
“This unlawful behavior is nothing more than jumping the immigration queue,
taking up space and resources in our immigration and refugee systems that
should be focused on those who are legitimately and lawfully waiting their turn
to come to Canada.”
Canada,
which has a population of around 34 million, accepts an average of 250,000
legal immigrants each year.
Border officials detained 492 illegal Tamil immigrants from Sri Lanka who
arrived in August aboard the MV Sun Sea, a leaky cargo vessel. Another 76 were
arrested in October 2009 upon arrival aboard another battered freighter.
Canada and Sri Lanka allege that there may be members of
the Tamil Tigers -- a group Canada
considers a terrorist organization -- hiding among the migrants, ToI reports.
