www.globeandmail.com News Books Careers Mutual Funds Stocks ROB Magazine Technology
Home  |  Business  |  National  |  International  |  Sports  |  Features  |  Arts  |  Forums  |  Subscribe

The Globe and Mail
Tuesday, August 17
leaf stats

Search

Tips & Other Options
Contents
bulletReport on Business
bulletNational
bulletInternational
bulletSports
bulletFeatures
bulletArts & Leisure
bulletCommentary
bulletFocus & Books
bulletClassifieds
bulletBirths & Deaths
bulletTravel
bulletHealth
bulletScience
bulletTechnology

NorstarMall.ca

Yellow.ca

News Index
bulletArts & Leisure
 Art
 Books
 Broadcast Week
 Fashion & Design
 Film
 Music
 Television
 Theatre
 TV Listings

bulletBirths & Deaths
bulletClassifieds
 Automotive
 Business Marketplace
 National personals
 Online personals
 Place an Ad
 Real estate rentals
 Real estate sales
 Services & Merchandise

bulletCommentary
 Columns
 Editorials
 Editorial Cartoon
 Letters to the Editor
 Send a letter to the Editor

bulletFeatures
 Amazing Facts
 Century of the Millennium
 Essay
 Fifth Column
 Life Story
 Lives Lived
 Millennium 100
 Social Studies
 Wax and Wane

bulletFocus & Books
 Book news
 Book reviews

bulletHealth
bulletInternational
 Columns
 The Globe Abroad

bulletNational
 Columns
 Issues Forum
 Report

bulletReport on Business
   - Staff Biographies
 Annual Reports
 Enterprise
 Managing
 Money & Markets
 ROB Top 1000
 Smart Numbers
 Special Reports
 1999 Federal Budget

bulletScience
bulletSports
   - Staff Biographies
 Basketball
 Baseball
 Football
 Golf
 Hockey
 Other Sports

bulletTechnology
bulletTravel
Magazines
ROBmagazine.com
Special Interest
Millennium Series
IT Management

Services Index
bulletA Globe History
bulletAbout globeandmail.com
bulletAdvertise
 Newspaper
 Web sites

bulletCustomer Service
 Change of Address
 General Inquiry
 Office information
 Subscribe to the paper
 Subscribe: International
 Subscribe: Gift
 Subscribe: Renewal
 Vacation Suspension

bulletHelp & Contact Us
bulletLink To Us
bulletMake Us Home
bulletNewspaper Assoc.
bulletPrivacy Policy
bulletReprints
 Information
 Order form

bulletStory Search
bulletWeekday Lineup
bulletWhat's New
  77 boat people ordered out
Smuggled Chinese to be sent back after being declared
ineligible to make refugee claims

KIM LUNMAN
British Columbia Bureau
Tuesday, August 17, 1999

Victoria -- Canada plans to deport nearly two-thirds of the 131 illegal Chinese migrants who arrived in a smugglers' vessel on British Columbia's shores last week.

They had set sail from the Fujian coast two months ago.

A total of 77 of the passengers aboard the freighter seized off the coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands have been deemed inadmissible to Canada and could be sent home within weeks, immigration officials said at a news conference in Victoria yesterday.

Immigration Canada said that's because the illegal migrants told officials the only reason they came to North America was to make more money than they can earn at home.

"They said they were put on a boat and sent to what they call the Gold Mountain to work," said Jim Redmond, manager of Immigration Canada for Vancouver Island.

Only 10 were deemed eligible to make refugee claims to seek asylum in Canada after interviews with immigration officers in Victoria.

The fate of 43 unaccompanied minors aged 11 to 17 is still uncertain. The province's child-welfare authorities are working with immigration officials to determine whether they can stay or be returned home. Another adult was also being processed late yesterday.

A previous boatload of illegal Chinese migrants, also from Fujian province, arrived on Vancouver Island last month. All but two passengers made refugee claims immediately. All 123 are now being processed and awaiting hearings, including the 37 being detained in a Vancouver jail in connection with the smuggling operation.
None of the passengers aboard the two ships had identification. In the first case, officials said, all declared a fear of persecution on being returned to China. Anyone arriving in Canada without identification can seek refugee status.

"These are two quite significantly different groups," Mr. Redmond said. "This group did not [indicate they wanted to seek refugee status]. I can't tell you why."

Lawyers representing some of the 77 said they would seek leave to appeal the deportation orders to the Federal Court of Appeal. Under the Immigration Act, the migrants are entitled to appeal the decision, and the process could take months.

Lawyers for the migrants say they fear legitimate refugee claimants are being turned away because of political pressure. The arrival of the second ship in a month has sparked a public backlash.

Protesters greeted the latest boatload in Port Hardy, B.C., with signs reading "Feed our people first." A Victoria newspaper published a poll showing 97 per cent of more than 3,000 respondents wanted the refugees deported. And the province has called on Ottawa to foot the welfare bill for the migrants, estimated to cost B.C. taxpayers $5.5-million.

The cost to federal taxpayers for the processing of the two ships of more than 250 illegal Chinese migrants is estimated so far at $750,000.

A team of 10 lawyers was interviewing the migrants in trailers at the Esquimalt navy base yesterday where they are being detained.

Lawyer Peter Golden said some of the migrants expressing a fear of being returned to China were told during initial interviews with immigration officials they don't have a legitimate refugee claim.

"It's the refugee board, under the legislation that is the body that's appropriate to decide those claims, not the immigration officers.

"Other people indicated they did have fears they would be jailed or fined or beaten when they went back."

Mr. Redmond said none of the migrants ordered deported indicated they were seeking refugee claims or had a reason to fear persecution at home.

Immigration officers conduct a background review to determine eligibility based on two criteria. Deportation can be ordered if the individual has a criminal record or has made a prior refugee claim. It is up to the Refugee and Immigration Board to make a final determination at a hearing on whether a person has a well-founded fear of persecution if returned to the native country. The process can take up to several years.

Earlier yesterday, the crew of nine men, believed to be South Korean, appeared in a Victoria courtroom amid mysterious health concerns raised by a judge who ordered anyone attending the hearing to wear surgical masks for their own protection.

Provincial Court Judge Jeanne Harvey, who was wearing a mask on the bench, called it "a very unique situation" and asked that the next court appearance, due Aug. 26, be held by video from the jail where they are being detained.


More National News
77 boat people ordered out
Smuggled Chinese to be sent back after being declared ineligible to make refugee claims
by Kim Lunman - Tuesday, August 17, 1999

Breast-cancer drug creates cost dilemma
Expensive new treatment can prolong life, but will governments pay?
by Carolyn Abraham - Tuesday, August 17, 1999

Ill ex-soldier offered pension of 25 per cent
Partly blind former peacekeeper to appeal after his disability rated at $432 a month
by Graham Fraser - Tuesday, August 17, 1999

Alliance asks courts to intervene at Nanoose
Injunctions sought to stop expropriation
by Robert Matas - Tuesday, August 17, 1999

Tax cuts, spending on tap at Liberal caucus meeting
by Paul Adams - Tuesday, August 17, 1999


Search
Search up to one week back for the selected parts of The Globe and Mail that we have online. See tips & other options for help.


 
Noteworthy
Click here for the Editorial Cartoon

Special Series Archive
Archived features from The Globe and Mail.

What's New
The latest additions to globeandmail.com.

Writers
Gagnon

Lysiane Gagnon
· Inside Quebec


Simpson

Jeffrey Simpson
· Articles


Sullivan

Paul Sullivan
· The West



Forums
Au Révoir to Arts Councils?
Will Arts Councils disappear? What do you think?

To Freelance or Not to Freelance?
What is your opinion of temporary work? Let us know!

My Baby's Got The Blues
Early discharges from hospitals are leading to more illness among Canadian babies. Do you have stories to share?

Books
Should we expect our popular fictions to better reflect the reality of violence and its aftermath? Or would we be losing entertainment value if James Bond were to be more human? Share your thoughts here.

Poetry
Share your poetry.

Careers
"I believe that the IT skills shortage is being hyped by private and public training instituitions who want to cash in on the demand for training." Do you agree?.

Mutual Funds
Growth in small capitalization companies can be partly attributed to the government's tax credit for people investing into LSVCC (Labour Sponsored Venture Capital Corporations). Have the government's incentives increased your investment in LSVCC?Let us know on globefund.com.

Technology
"I don't think many people realize how insecure Web banking is. Would you use ATMs if all you had to do was put in a password and no card was required?" Big Bank Bust, in our forums.

ChaptersGLOBE.com
Related Books
· Canadian Biographies
· Canadian Drama Books · Canadian History
· Canadian Politics & Government
· Canadian Travel Books

Help & Contact Us
Back to the top of this page
Copyright © 1999 Globe Information Services