Canadian immigration officials are praising
the Chinese government for their help in dealing with the migrants
who arrived off the B.C. coast over the summer.
The Immigration Department
deported six of the migrants on Friday after Chinese officials
provided them with travel documents.
Rob Johnston of Immigration Canada says the six men were being
held in a jail in northern British Columbia. And unlike most of the
migrants who arrived this summer, this group didn't apply for
refugee status.
Johnston says all the Canadian government needed to deport them
was the co-operation of the Chinese government. "Working with them,
we were able to obtain the travel documents and enforce six
removals," said Johnston.
Lawyers for many of the migrants have been highly critical of
immigration officials, accusing them of having a hidden agenda to
deny the migrants legal representation and, in some cases, the
opportunity to make refugees claims.
The Immigration Department eventually conceded it had acted too
quickly in issuing eviction orders for several dozen migrants and
agreed to let them stay and file claims.
But Johnston insists the six who were removed were treated
fairly. "I think we're taking a very appropriate enforcement
response and you're now seeing the results of that," he said.
Six deportations certainly isn't many, considering more than 500
migrants arrived in B.C. this summer. Still, the news will likely
come as a relief to some senior government officials.
Last week they admitted their worst fear was that the Chinese
would refuse to co-operate and not take back any of the migrants.