Canada gets tough with Lankan asylum seekers

Canada's Immigration Minister has signaled that he intends to play hardball with 76 men believed to be from Sri Lanka who arrived on a rusty boat off Canada's West Coast, as the government battles the perception of Canada as a soft touch for asylum seekers.
While Tamil Canadians have urged Canadian officials to show compassion, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told The Globe and Mail that that the migrants' illegal arrival highlights the growing problem of human smuggling.
The Conservative government has said it believes many refugee claims are bogus and has promised tougher legislation.
“We don't want to develop a reputation of having a two-tier immigration system – one tier for legal, law-abiding immigrants who patiently wait to come to the country, and a second tier who seek to come through the back door, typically through the asylum system,” Mr. Kenney said in an interview.
“We need to do a much better job of shutting the back door of immigration for those who seek to abuse that asylum system.”
The plight of the men, who are expected to make refugee claims, will likely move to an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing room.
Under Canadian immigration law, an asylum seeker who is held in custody must be given a detention hearing within 48 hours of being taken into custody. The migrants were led off the boat in handcuffs late Saturday night.
Their arrival has galvanized Canada's huge Tamil community, which dispatched two of its members to the West Coast. Toronto lawyer Gary Anandasangaree showed up at the Canada Border Services Agency's Vancouver offices Monday asking to meet with the migrants, but was refused.
He and David Poopalapillai took a red-eye flight to Vancouver early Monday. They believe the migrants are young Tamils desperate to leave Sri Lanka.
“For many people, Sri Lanka is no longer safe,” Mr. Anandasangaree said. He said he will try again Tuesday to meet with the migrants, who were taken from Vancouver Island to a suburban Vancouver detention centre.
(The Globe and Mail)