Tuesday, September 14,
1999 Another Chinese migrant ship heads
toward B.C.: lawyer
One on way to Mexico:
Probe into assault claims by migrants hits roadblock
Adrienne Tanner
National
Post
 Department of
Defence
The second ship was spotted
by the RCMP off the Queen Charlotte Islands on Aug.
11.
|
 Steve Bosch, The Vancouver
Sun
The fourth boat was seen Sept.
7, 30 kilometres northwest of Vancouver
Island.
|
 Mark Van Manen, The Vancouver
Sun
The first of the recent migrant
boats arrived July 20 at Nootka Sound on Vancouver
Island.
|
 Diana Nethercott, National
Post
The third boat was tracked by
an Aurora aircraft on Aug.
31.
| Another ship filled
with Chinese migrants is travelling to Canada, according to an
immigration lawyer representing some of the nearly 600 refugees who
have arrived off the coast of British Columbia this summer.
Kevin Doyle, a Victoria lawyer, said one of his clients called
his mother in China who told him two more boats are on the way.
"One is on the way to B.C., the other on the way to Mexico," Mr.
Doyle said.
A source within the immigration department confirmed that at
least one more boat is headed to Canada, but George Varnai,
spokesman for Canada Immigration, said that while officials have
heard the rumours, they have not spotted any boats.
Nearly 600 Chinese migrants, most from the Fujian province, have
arrived by ship off the coast of B.C. since July, seeking refugee
status. Some have paid Chinese smugglers as much as $70,000 (U.S.)
to make the trip.
At the makeshift refugee holding centre in CFB Esquimalt where
many of the migrants are staying, an RCMP inspector from Port
Alberni has begun investigating allegations of police brutality
against the migrants.
Insp. Lou Racz was assigned to the investigation after local
lawyers and the Canadian Council of Refugees complained migrants
were being intimidated, bullied and assaulted by immigration staff
and RCMP officers guarding the camp. The lawyers say they have
recorded instances where migrants were shoved, screamed at,
strip-searched and denied access to their lawyers.
Insp. Racz is asking lawyers for names of the migrants and
details of their complaints to aid in the investigation, Mr. Doyle
said.
However, local lawyers are reluctant to divulge the information.
"We have solicitor-client privilege and these people have told us
in confidence," Mr. Doyle said. Once the refugee hearings are over
and the migrants are no longer in custody, they may be more willing
to file public complaints, he said.
Superintendent Jim Good said the investigation is proof the RCMP
takes the allegations seriously.
But he warned it will be impossible to investigate without
talking to the complainants.
"I regret that Mr. Doyle and others would adopt this position. It
really handcuffs us," Supt. Good said.
The refugee board is fully independent and makes decisions free
from political or police interference, he added.
Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for
Refugees, said the migrants have good reason to be suspicious of an
investigation launched by the very police force they are accusing of
mistreatment.
"We called for an independent investigation. We don't think it's
very satisfactory to have the police investigating themselves. You
end up with a certain doubt in your mind about whether they're
really unbiased."
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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