Canada won't change
immigration laws: Chretien WebPosted Mon
Sep 13 00:51:04 1999
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - Prime Minister
Chretien says Canada won't be changing its immigration laws to deal
with the influx of migrants from China.
Chretien spoke with Chinese
President Jiang Zemin at the opening of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Co-operation summit in New Zealand.
He asked the Chinese president for his cooperation in dealing
with the problem.
"I told him that we need their collaboration because they could
hopefully stop the departure of these ships from the coast of
China," Chretien told reporters at the summit.
Chretien said China's president promised to do what he can to
stop the influx.
He said China had agreed to invoke a year-old agreement that
would allow Canadian police on Chinese soil to investigate the human
smuggling ring.
On Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy said
Canadian police working in China could not only keep track of
illegal smuggling operations but may even be able to stop them
before they happen.
Chretien also responded to earlier comments made by China's
Foreign Minister that the migrants want to go to Canada because it
has lax immigration laws.
Chretien said Canada is a generous country that has had this
situation for a long time.
Meanwhile, officials continued to question the migrants Sunday at
CFB Esquimalt near Victoria, where they are being temporarily
housed.
Officials there spent Friday preparing a new compound for the
migrants.
It is being built near the converted gymnasium where the others
have been staying.
Taking care of the migrants is becoming more expensive. Officials
say they're spending about $200,000 a week on each boatload
That figure does not include the cost of police and military
personnel involved in capturing them at sea.
In addition to the four ships that have been seized, a fifth ship
was spotted off the Queen Charlotte Islands but is believed to have
sunk before it could be apprehended.
The passengers on that ship are believed to have slipped into
Canada undetected.
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