Tibetans latest flood of
refugees to Canada WebPosted Sat Aug 14
07:25:20 1999
TORONTO - The West Coast isn't the
only part of Canada that's experiencing a refugee influx. A group of
Tibetans has asked for refugee status in southern Ontario.
On Friday 40 Tibetans
simply showed up at a downtown shelter and claimed to be refugees.
One would-be refugee told CBC News he came to Canada because "you'll
be accepted."
How did they get here? They simply crossed the border from the
United States.
They had all the right paperwork thanks to an American refugee
agency that escorted them to the Fort Erie, Ontario, checkpoint.
It has all the makings of a trend.
According to Immigration Canada, 53 Tibetans crossed into Canada
from the United States in July. In the past two weeks, 123 more came
across.
One reason given by some of the Tibetans for the sudden influx is
that they've heard a rumour Canada is planning to toughen its
immigration policy in the fall.
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