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, July 27
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

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
 Column One
 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 this site
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
bulletNews Releases
bulletPress Connections
bulletPrivacy Policy
bulletReprints
 Information
 Order form

bulletStory Search
bulletWeekday Lineup
bulletWhat's New
  Smuggled Chinese face tighter security
Makeshift weapons found in detention area

KIM LUNMAN
British Columbia Bureau
Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Victoria -- Illegal Chinese immigrants at the centre of a human-smuggling ring will be led into detention hearings today amid tight security because police found makeshift weapons in the military-base gymnasium where they spent their first week in Canada.

Immigration officials said yesterday that they will seek to detain most of the 123 passengers discovered in a rusty fishing boat off the west coast of Vancouver Island last week. The 106 men and 17 women, who are claiming refugee status, will be handcuffed at the hearings that are to start today before four immigration adjudicators at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt.

Police said yesterday a search of the gymnasium revealed the weapons hidden in the cots, bedding and pillows of at least 10 of the refugee claimants.

They included safety pins, tinfoil plates, pens, metal plugs taken from the gymnasium's floor and hair combs.

"Small items were concealed that could have possibly been used as weapons," said RCMP Constable Tracey Rook, adding that security was increased to protect other immigrants, immigration officials, police and military personnel at the site.

The items were discovered after security officials saw one of the men tearing a tinfoil plate after dinner. Styrofoam is now being used for all meals, Constable Rook said.

The Immigration Department will seek to detain "the vast majority" of the passengers, including 19 men who are segregated and believed to be smuggling organizers, department spokeswoman Lorna Tessier said.

She would not say how many the department will not seek to detain. "There may be some who we are satisfied of their identities."
A department official later said that some of the passengers, originally reported to have no documentation, supplied proof of identity to authorities.

None of the passengers had passports when the Canadian Coast Guard found them aboard an unmarked vessel last Tuesday in Nookta Sound. Some paid as much as $40,000 (U.S.) to make a 39-day voyage from Fujian province in China. There were 13 teenaged boys among the 123; the youngest is believed to be 14.

Many of the passengers had agreed to work off the cost of a loan to finance the trip after their arrival. The ship's destination is still unknown, and a criminal investigation continues.

Lawyers were interviewing the newcomers yesterday at the military base, where they are sleeping on a row of cots in a gym behind barbed wire and 24-hour military watch.

They are eating Chinese takeout from a Victoria restaurant and are being allowed to take regular exercise breaks outside and read Chinese-language newspapers. Federal officials distributed a letter to the base's neighbouring residents yesterday saying it is uncertain how long the illegal immigrants will stay.

The case has brought a public outcry over Canada's immigration policies. Refugee claimants can qualify for legal aid, welfare and federal health benefits while they await the outcome of their hearings and appeals. That can take months, even years.

Vancouver Reform MP John Reynolds said it's astounding that immigration authorities are not seeking to detain all of the passengers.

"These people are criminals," said Mr. Reynolds, the party's chief justice critic. "They should be sent back home. These people paid to do something illegally, and it's going to cost taxpayers millions of dollars."

One of five lawyers interviewing the claimants through translators yesterday said the passengers are entitled to seek refugee status under Canada's immigration laws and are simply exercising that right.

"There is a process for dealing with refugee status," Victoria lawyer Peter Golden said. "That's the law of the land."

He could not say on what grounds the Chinese immigrants will seek refugee status. It is likely all will seek to be released at the detention hearings that will take place today in four separate hearing rooms.

"These are people claiming refugee status," Mr. Golden said. "If they don't stick around, they won't get status in Canada."

Anyone arriving at Canada's borders from another country can claim refugee status. They must prove they have a well-founded fear of persecution at home based on any of five grounds: nationality, religion, race, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

Immigration authorities can seek to detain the claimants on the grounds they are not likely to appear for their next hearing or present a danger to the Canadian public.


More National News
Minister was briefed in '95 on soldiers' toxic risk
Notes show Collenette was prepared to discuss troops' chemical exposure
by Graham Fraser and Andrew Mitrovica - Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Smuggled Chinese face tighter security
Makeshift weapons found in detention area
by Kim Lunman - Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Fancy a hemp burger? Be careful, report warns
Health Canada study says THC poses health risk
by Anne McIlroy - Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Ousted Reformer predicts backlash
by Murray Campbell - Tuesday, July 27, 1999

Mounties questioned Clark, sources say
B.C. Premier asked about casino licence
by Rod Mickleburgh - Tuesday, July 27, 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
· Editorial Cartoon
· Series archive
· What's new

Writers
Gagnon

Lysiane Gagnon
· Inside Quebec


Simpson

Jeffrey Simpson
· Articles


Sullivan

Paul Sullivan
· The West



Forums
The hidden danger of peacekeeping
The Canadian army has been accused of tampering with the medical files of soldiers in Croatia who came back to Canada with severe health problems. Is the military covering up its wrongful actions?

Books
Book clubs: Are they enlightening or frightening? Share your book club stories 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
Aside from past performance, what's the most important criterion you examine when choosing a particular fund for your portfolio? Let us know on globefund.com.

Technology
Compaq has a new CEO, but anaylsts are skeptical he can do the job. What do you think? The new face of Compaq.

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 The Globe and Mail