National Post Online - news
National Post
 News Financial Post Arts & Life Sports Commentary Diversions Forums

[Festivals]

X-Canada Elections

 Canada
 + News
 + Reporter
 + Politics
 + West to East

 World
 + News
 + Postcard
 + Observer


Careerclick

Special Features







Search Help
Sort by:
Date
Rank
 
Category


Friday, July 30, 1999

Some refugee claimants removed from B.C. base
Move follows protest


The Canadian Press

ESQUIMALT, B.C. - Immigration officials transferred several illegal Chinese immigrants yesterday from a military base where they have been under guard for more than a week.

Authorities would not reveal how many of the refugee claimants were removed, or exactly why.

But the move came the day after some of the 123-member group staged a protest.

"At this time we're not commenting on where they've been transferred to or reasons, other than security measures as well as . . . logistical challenges," said Lois Reimer, a department spokeswoman.

Lorna Tessier, an Immigration official who has been on site at CFB Esquimalt, said the refugee claimants were transferred for two reasons.

"It's a lot of people to treat at one time and [the transfer] takes the pressure off this site," she said.

The transfer came the day after a lockdown at the military gymnasium where the migrants are being detained.

Several refused to eat lunch Wednesday to protest the immigration process, officials said.

"Everything went very calmly [Wednesday] night, there were no problems," Ms. Tessier said.

"We would like to keep it that way so we felt for security reasons this was the best decision."

The military base was to house the detainees only until next Wednesday.

"This is obviously not a detention facility, so it's not the ideal facility to take on this type of situation," Ms. Tessier said of the gymnasium, which is surrounded by a temporary barbed wire fence and guarded by RCMP officers.

"Eventually all of them have to be moved anyway."

Details won't be released until the transfer is complete, authorities said.

The 123 refugee claimants were found in the filthy hold of a cargo ship off the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island on July 20.

They spent 38 days crossing the ocean in the decrepit vessel, with no toilets and no potable water.

There are 115 Chinese nationals still in custody. Eight juveniles were transferred into the care of the provincial Ministry for Children and Families on Wednesday.

Three refugee claimants originally believed to be juveniles -- under 18 according to the Immigration Act -- were later believed to be older. Two others are among 19 people suspected of being involved in the human smuggling operation.

The teens have been placed in a group home.

"We're going to explore if there's any possibilities to see if repatriation to their families in China is a potential option," said Mike Corbeil, deputy minister of children and families.

"They would have to withdraw their refugee claims for that to happen."

They could also be placed in Chinese foster homes.

Mr. Corbeil said Mandarin-speaking social workers and translators are still trying to sort out who the teens are and how they came to be aboard the ship.

The teens are not deemed a high risk to disappear and are not under strict supervision, he said.

Detention review hearings to decide whether the refugee claimants will be held in custody another seven days are expected to wrap up today.

The hearings, already bogged down by the need for translation during the proceedings, were further delayed by the Wednesday protest.

Ms. Reimer said the would-be immigrants were protesting because they did not understand the refugee-claim process.

"They said they weren't clear on the process," Ms. Reimer said. "They had some concerns about it."

All of the 25 adults brought before Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicators Tuesday and Wednesday were ordered detained further.

Immigration authorities say they are not sure of the identities of the refugee claimants, who arrived without any documentation.

Another detention review must be completed within seven days.

After they confirm the identities of the claimants, officials can seek further detention if they believe any of the claimants are a threat to public safety or are likely not to show up for future immigration proceedings.

 
 Home Site Map Feedback Info

Copyright © Southam Inc. All rights reserved.
Optimized for browser versions 3.0 and higher.