Ottawa nixed plan to stop marine migrants
July 9, 2011 10:45 am
The federal government of Canada has yet to act on a multimillion-dollar proposal by the Canada Border Services Agency to improve procedures for handling illegal marine migrants such as those coming by the boatload from Sri Lanka.
Documents obtained by Postmedia News through access to information legislation suggest Canada’s handling of the Ocean Lady, which arrived in Vancouver with 76 Sri Lankan migrants on board in October 2009, was “less effective than it could have been.”
The memo called for “a more aggressive approach to create a deterrent for future arrivals.”
Another memo addressed to CBSA president Stephen Rigby and dated Aug. 30, 2010 -three weeks after another ship, the MV Sun Sea, arrived on the West Coast with 492 Tamil migrants -offered a concrete plan.
The proposal involved millions in new spending to place 16 agents in nine countries around the world to provide intelligence and liaise with foreign governments to prevent future human smuggling to Canada.
The 16 agents would have joined the 67 CBSA officials already stationed in 40 countries.
The additions were to roll out in three phases, according to the memo. The first officers were to be deployed within three months to undisclosed locations at a cost of $4.76 million the first year and $3.2 million in subsequent years.
The second phase would involve another group of officers deployed within four to five months at a cost of $3.6 million the first year and $2.6 million in subsequent years.
Within six months another group would be deployed at a cost of $1.19 million the first year and $790,000 in subsequent years, according to the proposal.
But the agency said the funding never came through at the time, nor was any identified in the recent budget.
As such, there were “no new permanent deployments of officers related to migrant vessels.”
CBSA spokesman Luc Nadon noted, however, that the agency has been deploying five rotating “temporary duty” officers to Southeast Asia since last July.
“The CBSA is working hard at home and with its international partners abroad to deter and prevent human smuggling ventures at the source,” he said in an e-mail.
“The role of the temporary duty officer is to work with local governments in the region in order to prevent human smugglers from arranging the loading of large numbers of irregular migrants on vessels destined to Canada.”
Although the measures were ultimately rejected, the documents raised a number of concerns.
They warn that there “is a strong possibility of future boats coming to Canada” and that the event involving the Sun Sea received widespread media attention, which only “heightened the need” for a “stronger response” to ensure criminal and terrorist organizations don’t abuse Canada’s refugee system at the expense of genuine asylum seekers.
The first memo also suggested that Canadian officials were aware of the impending arrival of the Sun Sea and prepared for it by examining previous incidents like the Ocean Lady, as well as the 1999 arrival of four ships carrying nearly 600 Chinese migrants.
Each of these incidents, according to the memo, suggested human smuggling and posed challenges not only for border agents on the ground, but for the whole organization.
According to the memo, the yet-toarrive Sun Sea migrants were to be dealt with by immigration officials, although “flexibility” was necessary should the RCMP be required to conduct any criminal investigations.
The plan was to gather as much evidence as possible to deny each migrant a chance to enter Canada and make the public case that “marine people smuggling is serious and poses a significant threat to the health and safety of those in Canada.”
The CBSA planned to argue before the Immigration and Refugee Board that none of those applying for refugee status should receive it, but knew that would be a challenge since the board has an 84-per-cent approval rating.
The CBSA took this aggressive approach, the documents show, because it was aware that it would have problems holding the Sun Sea migrants for a long period of time. The agency expected the migrants to easily prove their identities and therefore win release from detention facilities.
At this point, just four of the Sun Sea migrants have been ordered deported due to their affiliation with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a terrorist organization according to Canada. (Postmedia News)
Documents obtained by Postmedia News through access to information legislation suggest Canada’s handling of the Ocean Lady, which arrived in Vancouver with 76 Sri Lankan migrants on board in October 2009, was “less effective than it could have been.”
The memo called for “a more aggressive approach to create a deterrent for future arrivals.”
Another memo addressed to CBSA president Stephen Rigby and dated Aug. 30, 2010 -three weeks after another ship, the MV Sun Sea, arrived on the West Coast with 492 Tamil migrants -offered a concrete plan.
The proposal involved millions in new spending to place 16 agents in nine countries around the world to provide intelligence and liaise with foreign governments to prevent future human smuggling to Canada.
The 16 agents would have joined the 67 CBSA officials already stationed in 40 countries.
The additions were to roll out in three phases, according to the memo. The first officers were to be deployed within three months to undisclosed locations at a cost of $4.76 million the first year and $3.2 million in subsequent years.
The second phase would involve another group of officers deployed within four to five months at a cost of $3.6 million the first year and $2.6 million in subsequent years.
Within six months another group would be deployed at a cost of $1.19 million the first year and $790,000 in subsequent years, according to the proposal.
But the agency said the funding never came through at the time, nor was any identified in the recent budget.
As such, there were “no new permanent deployments of officers related to migrant vessels.”
CBSA spokesman Luc Nadon noted, however, that the agency has been deploying five rotating “temporary duty” officers to Southeast Asia since last July.
“The CBSA is working hard at home and with its international partners abroad to deter and prevent human smuggling ventures at the source,” he said in an e-mail.
“The role of the temporary duty officer is to work with local governments in the region in order to prevent human smugglers from arranging the loading of large numbers of irregular migrants on vessels destined to Canada.”
Although the measures were ultimately rejected, the documents raised a number of concerns.
They warn that there “is a strong possibility of future boats coming to Canada” and that the event involving the Sun Sea received widespread media attention, which only “heightened the need” for a “stronger response” to ensure criminal and terrorist organizations don’t abuse Canada’s refugee system at the expense of genuine asylum seekers.
The first memo also suggested that Canadian officials were aware of the impending arrival of the Sun Sea and prepared for it by examining previous incidents like the Ocean Lady, as well as the 1999 arrival of four ships carrying nearly 600 Chinese migrants.
Each of these incidents, according to the memo, suggested human smuggling and posed challenges not only for border agents on the ground, but for the whole organization.
According to the memo, the yet-toarrive Sun Sea migrants were to be dealt with by immigration officials, although “flexibility” was necessary should the RCMP be required to conduct any criminal investigations.
The plan was to gather as much evidence as possible to deny each migrant a chance to enter Canada and make the public case that “marine people smuggling is serious and poses a significant threat to the health and safety of those in Canada.”
The CBSA planned to argue before the Immigration and Refugee Board that none of those applying for refugee status should receive it, but knew that would be a challenge since the board has an 84-per-cent approval rating.
The CBSA took this aggressive approach, the documents show, because it was aware that it would have problems holding the Sun Sea migrants for a long period of time. The agency expected the migrants to easily prove their identities and therefore win release from detention facilities.
At this point, just four of the Sun Sea migrants have been ordered deported due to their affiliation with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a terrorist organization according to Canada. (Postmedia News)