Canada to unveil law to deter illegal immigrants
Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday, his government
would soon unveil a law to deter illegal immigration in response to the
arrival of rickety cargo ships carrying Tamil refugees.
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Stephen Harper |
Harper said current legislation does not go far enough to deter human
smuggling, which "will increase in the years to come, unless we make
significant changes to our law, to provide serious deterrents."
He said his government would unveil amendments to the Immigration Act
"designed to ensure (that) we deter this kind of behaviour ... which for
the vast majority of Canadians is completely unacceptable."
Border officials detained 492 Tamils who arrived in August aboard the
MV Sun Sea. Another 76 were arrested in October 2009 upon arrival on
Canada's west coast aboard another freighter.
Canada and Sri Lanka allege the migrants may included members of the
Tamil Tigers, banned in Canada as a terrorist organization before their
defeat last year by Sri Lanka's government after a lengthy civil war.
A third ship carrying Tamil asylum seekers is also reportedly en
route for Canadian shores. Canadian authorities are trying to track it
using satellites and high-tech eavesdropping equipment, the Toronto Sun
reported.
Harper would only say that his government is "monitoring these
developments very carefully."
Earlier, authorities announced the arrest of nine people discovered
hiding aboard a container ship, the MSC Lugano, when it arrived in
Montreal from Morocco. AFP |
