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Kim Emerson reports for CBC TV.

Kathryn King reports for CBC Radio.


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CLIP: Sasa Petricic reports on the debate over smuggled migrants.

A primer on immigration policy from Norman Hermant

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ON AIR: Cross-Country Checkup, Sun: Are Canadians suckers to let in illegal migrants?

Immigration says rumours of another smuggling scheme unfounded
WebPosted Sat Aug 14 08:35:18 1999

VICTORIA, B.C. - Immigration officials in Victoria say they now have a clearer idea of who the latest Chinese migrants are and how they got here. They also say there is no evidence of a third ship en route to B.C.

They released the new details Friday afternoon at a news conference at CFB Esquimalt, where the migrants spent their first full day in detention.

It was a day that started at 4 a.m. The newly arrived migrants have been photographed, deloused and given new clothing.

Jim Redmond of Citizenship and Immigration said things are proceeding smoothly. "By late this afternoon or right at this time, they've completed that process. Now they're starting medical examinations."

The 131 migrants have been travelling nonstop since they left China. Officials have clarified how the migrants got to a rocky beach on the Queen Charlotte Islands.

They weren't forced to swim in cold choppy water. Instead the Korean captain forced the bow of his boat into a rock cleft and told the migrants to get off.

The youngest migrant is believed to be eight years old, and many are under 18. Officials say they're all from Fujian province in China, the home of another group of refugees who arrived three weeks ago.

The West Coast is rife with rumours about another boat of illegal migrants. But Redmond says they're just rumours.

"I've noticed that media have reported extensively that there is another ship under surveillance. I would like to say that CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) and its partners are not aware of any other smuggling ship in Pacific waters at this time. Furthermore CIC has not requested National Defence search for a specific boat on our behalf at this time."

Redmond says in the next few days the migrants will begin the process of determining whether they can stay in this country. That's despite an immigration statistic that says 70 per cent of people from Fujian who try to come to Canada disappear before their refugee hearings.

  • RELATED: What are your thoughts on illegal migrants? Send in your letters.

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