Friday, August 13, 1999

NORTH AMERICA TODAY

'Refugee' boats revive debate on open asylum law

MURRAY CAMPBELL in Toronto

A mystery ship that dumped 150 people on a British Columbia beach this
week also left behind another hot issue for the controversy-ridden
Canadian immigration system.

It was the second time in a month that a boatload of Asian migrants had
landed on Canada's shores in an attempt to get around immigration
regulations.

And it is likely that the landing will strengthen the growing feeling that
these would-be refugees sneaking into the country are playing officials
for suckers.

Yesterday the new arrivlas were moved to safety from a steep rocky shore
on the unpopulated southern tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

The unannounced arrival in July of 123 Chinese on a rusty, squalid
unmarked ship after 39 days at sea has reignited the debate about what
Canada can do to thwart international people-smuggling rings.

The Chinese, who carried no documents, declared themselves to be refugees
fleeing persecution.

For many Canadians, the last straw came when the Chinese, who had paid or
promised to pay up to US$38,000 (HK$295,000) for their passage from Fujian
province, went on a hunger strike while confined in a Victoria gymnasium
because the Chinese food brought to them was cold.

"These people have the nerve to complain and riot," noted one
letter to
the editor of the Globe and Mail newspaper.

Since then, 46 of the refugee claimants have been released and are
receiving support of C$500 (HK$2,600) monthly. This, too, has inflamed
sensibilities.

"There's a billion people there [in China]," said John Reynolds,
an
opposition MP from Vancouver. "Are you just going to put the message
out
that if you can get out, we'll take you?"

It's the sort of debate that has erupted periodically since 1986 when the
first mass landing of would-be refugees - in that case, Tamils from Sri
Lanka - occurred in Newfoundland.

Mostly, it centres on Canada's willingness to take refugee claimants at
face value. Anybody who shows up seeking asylum is entitled to a thorough
hearing that can take two years and, while they wait for a determination,
enjoy a guaranteed annual income.

About 60 per cent of these applicants are declared to be fleeing
persecution, compared with an international average of about 15 per cent.

But the rate of formal acceptance is meaningless, since the majority of
those rejected stay on anyway.

A 1997 government report found that of the 19,000 people due to be
deported since 1993, only 3,400 were known to have left the country. The
rest just disappeared into the woodwork or somehow got to the United
States.

The 1996 census lists 200 separate countries that have provided immigrants
to Canada. Before 1961, Europeans provided the bulk of newcomers but today
China, Sri Lanka and other countries with non-white populations dominate
the list and the only European country in the top 10 countries of origin
is Poland.

By 2005, according to Statistics Canada, about 16 per cent of the
population will be non-white. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver absorb most
of the 200,000 new immigrants that arrive each year.

In Toronto, 54 per cent of the city's population will be non-white by next
year.

The city's rapid metamorphosis in the past half-century from domination by
those claiming British heritage to one where 40 per cent of students in
state schools are foreign-born has not come without tension.

A woman who recently sued her Chinese neighbours over cooking smells is
only one indication of the conflicts that arise daily.

Chinese Canadians recently objected to plans to build a mosque in Markham,
Ontario, because they said the placement of the building would bring bad
luck.

Opinion polls show only grudging support for immigration - less than 20
per cent consistently support increasing immigration levels. However, in
Toronto, for example, reports of hate crimes are down to 92 in the first
half of 1998 - the latest figures available - compared with a peak of 302
in 1995.

In the wake of the landings in British Columbia, Elinor Caplan, the
Immigration Minister, whose grandparents came from Poland, has felt the
need to calm fears.

She said that Canadians did not appreciate how the country had
successfully built itself through immigration.

"Sometimes there are tensions and misunderstandings but I think
generally
Canadians are proud of our international recognition as a compassionate
society," she said.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Published in the South China Morning Post.  Copyright © 1999.  All rights
reserved.