Tuesday, August 17,
1999 Exclusion orders issued for 77 of 131
migrants
Processing continues
Stewart Bell
National
Post
ESQUIMALT, B.C. - More than half the Chinese boat people who
arrived on the West Coast last week aboard a Korean smuggling ship
are being deported after failing to make refugee claims, immigration
officials said yesterday.
Almost a week after they were dropped on the Queen Charlotte
Islands, 77 of the 131 migrants had indicated they had come to
Canada to improve their economic standing rather than out of any
fear of persecution.
The Immigration Department has issued exclusion orders against
them, meaning they can no longer make a refugee claim and must be
deported. Barring any appeals to the Federal Court, they could be
returned to China within weeks.
Only 10 have said they intend to claim refugee status. Another 44
are still being processed. They include 43 youths as young as 11 who
made the journey from China's Fujian province without their parents.
"From our analysis, it appears the primary motive for coming to
Canada was for economic reasons," said Jim Redmond, manager of
Citizenship and Immigration Canada. "There's an intention in coming
to Canada to work. There's an experience of poverty in the country
they've left. They've indicated to us they want to make money, more
money than they're making in their country of origin."
Meanwhile, the nine Koreans accused of transporting the migrants
to Canada made a brief court appearance yesterday to face charges of
smuggling humans. Charged under the Immigration Act are: Dook Yun
Im, Sun Kun Ko, Sang Sin O, Chang Young Kim, Juh Un Kim, Chung Un
Choi, Chong Sub Park, Yang Kuk Cho and Young Ho Kim.
They wore green prison coveralls as they were led into the
courtroom, while an interpreter explained the proceedings.
There was confusion as the judge hearing the case initially
closed the court to reporters for health reasons. The judge then
said reporters could attend -- if they wore surgical masks. After
purchasing the masks from a nearby dentist, reporters were allowed
into the courtroom.
The case was put over until Aug. 26.
It is unclear why the judge ordered masks be worn in court. The
accused are not quarantined and appeared in good health.
The ship that brought the migrants was towed to Victoria today
where it, along with another vessel that brought migrants earlier in
the summer, are under seizure by Canada's Immigration Department. If
the ships are not claimed in 31 days, Ottawa will get rid of them.
Immigration officials began processing the migrants on Friday,
but were surprised to find few of them making refugee claims. During
the second phase of immigration processing, which began Sunday, only
a few made claims.
Immigration lawyers have complained that the migrants were not
adequately represented during the immigration screening process. But
Mr. Redmond said they had no right to legal representation in the
initial stages. They were later offered lawyers, but some indicated
they did not want one, he said.
The two loads of boat people to hit Canada's West Coast have cost
the Immigration Department an estimated $750,000 -- $350,000 for the
first ship and $400,000 for the second.
RELATED SITES:
(Each link opens a new window)
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
The brand-new white paper on immigration policy
Statistics Canada: Immigration and
Citizenship
Statistics from the 1996 national census that look at where
Canadians came from.
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