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Caplan begins trip against human smuggling
WebPosted Sat Apr 15 22:53:44 2000

CANBERRA - 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

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.


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