Federal Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan
flew to Australia late Saturday night, on the first leg of a journey
to discourage illegal Asian migrants from coming to Canada.
Caplan's first stop
will be Canberra, where she is scheduled to meet with Australian
Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock.
Elinor Caplan
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Over the past few
months, there has been a surge in the number of people, mainly from
the Middle East and China, trying to sneak into Australia.
Last year, about 600 illegal migrants from China's Fujian
province were caught entering British Columbia.
Some of the men, women, and children said they had paid smugglers
up to $60,000 each for passage on cramped, leaky cargo ships.
Caplan said she wants to spread the word that the smugglers are
cheating people into believing they can pay money to get around
proper immigration channels.
After stopping in Australia, she is scheduled to begin a nine-day
trip to China on April 20.
Earlier this month, Caplan introduced new legislation that
proposes harsher penalties for criminals caught smuggling people
into Canada. Under the new rules, anyone convicted could face life
in prison and fines of up to $1 million.
In addition to visiting Fujian province, the minister plans to
travel to Shanghai and Beijing for talks with Chinese authorities
who also want to crack down on illegal trade in human cargo.
