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Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - 05.45 GMT |
SL refugee acceptance rate
plummets
'Canada 'sick and tired' of human smugglers
abusing system' |
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Canada’s acceptance of refugee claims from Sri Lanka plummeted in September, the month following the arrival of a boatload of 492 Tamil migrants, new Canadian immigration data show.
For each month from January 2009 to July 2010, the percentage of accepted refugee claims from Sri Lanka was typically greater than 80 or 90%, according to the data National Post reported.
But in August, the month the Tamils arrived aboard the MV Sun Sea — sparking a heated debate about Canada’s refugee system and vows by the Canadian government to crack down on human smuggling — the percentage of accepted claims dropped to 75%. It then plunged to 47% in September.
Since it takes an average of 22 months for a refugee claim to be heard, none of the cases decided in September were connected to the migrants aboard the MV Sun Sea.
Paula Faber, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, said Tuesday refugee-claim decision makers are government [Canada] appointees. But she said they are not subject to outside influence and make decisions solely on the basis of evidence presented at refugee hearings. “Each case is decided on its own merits,” she said.
Asked for comment on the drop in the acceptance rate, Alykhan Velshi, communications director for Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, would only say that the Immigration and Refugee Board operates independently of the government.
“What I will say is that Canadians are sick and tired of queue jumpers and human smugglers abusing our immigration system. Our Conservative government introduced tough legislation to prevent human smugglers from abusing Canada’s immigration system. Unfortunately, the Ignatieff Liberals, NDP, and Bloc Quebecois have criticized our legislation for being too tough on human smuggling operations.”
Last month, the Canadian government introduced legislation in Parliament which includes stiff penalties for traffickers and shipping companies that smuggle asylum-seekers into Canada.
The proposed law also penalizes refugee claimants arriving in groups if they are deemed by the public safety minister to have paid smugglers to get them to Canada. Such asylum-seekers could be detained up to a year, the National Post said.
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