The more things change …
Friday, August 20, 2010 at 11:24AM It’s fascinating to watch the Tamil issue unfold, yet sadly the situation is similar to the arrival of the first boatloads of Tamils (1986) and Sikhs (1987). I say this based on first hand experience as back then I was the Chief of Staff to Gerry Weiner, the Minister of Immigration.
The population was outraged, many demanding we immediately throw them out. Our office was flooded with letters (email didn’t exist then) and commentators ramped up the rhetoric against these arrivals. No different really than what we see happening today.
We found out we had little choice, our hands were bound by the existing laws (as they are now) and what was then the relatively new Singh decision by the Supreme Court. Of course the immigration industry got involved to defend these new refugee claimants and the process to screen and review their cases took years. Interestingly enough I recognize the names of some of the same lawyers this time around.
In the case of the first Tamil arrivals, roughly half were sent to Montreal, the rest to Toronto where various aid agencies took over to assist them while they were processed. It’s interesting to note that I was told later by the head of one of these agencies that he was astounded that within a year the Tamil community had paid back every cent of what it had cost his agency to look after the arrivals.
I recall reading and answering every letter that had been sent to the minister. To say that Canadians were angry was an understatement. Most letters expressed one key concern that I expect probably holds true today, namely that these arrivals were jumping the queue ahead of other legitimate immigration applicants. Many letters came from new Canadians who had waited patiently in some cases for years to be accepted by Canada. They had filled out all the forms, passed medicals, passed our security screening and met our standards for acceptance. They saw the Tamils and Sikh arrivals as jumping the queue ahead of the other applicants hoping to make a new life here in Canada.
That is a valid argument if these arrivals turn out to be economic migrants simply looking for a better life and future for their family. It is not though if they are legitimate refugees fleeing persecution. I have seen media reports that some of the current passengers have UN issued refugee documents. In these cases we have moral and legal obligations that are not lightly cast aside.
No matter how much the law has been toughened up and the screening process improved, it can still take years to process a refugee claimant. Any government hoping to address this issue will have to pour millions of dollars into the system and make drastic changes to the appeal process if they hope to be able to remove failed refugee claimants quickly.
We must be able to process and weed out the false refugee claimants from those who have a genuine fear of persecution. That takes time. So far the government has done exactly what it should be doing. It will be interesting to see what changes they will propose and just how they expect to get these changes through a minority parliament.
It’s time to put the hysteria aside and let our officials do their work. They will separate fact from fiction as they look into each case and then we will know if we are faced with a shipload of economic migrants or genuine refugees seeking our protection.
Reader Comments (6)
We also imported all the old hatreds and prejudices that traveled with these refugees. How about a blocked Gardner Expressway brought about, not by some Canadian issue, but by a war half a world away? Or how about a planeload of people blown out of the sky, not because of some Canadian dispute over taxes, or equalization payments, or bilingualism but by a struggle between two countries thousands of miles away. Immigrants are welcome, legitimate refugees are welcome but confine your homeland hatred baggage internally - don't carry out your warfare from Canada.
Do like Australia, put them on an island refugee camp until they are cleared.
@ Powwell Lucas
Well I'm not Sikh so I won't comment on that except to say that Sikh extremists are the tiny minority among Sikhs just as IRA extremists were the tiny minority among Irish-Canadians.
Re: the GTA road seizure, It looked like men and women of all ages seizing a road to get the attention of an apathetic Conservative govt which was silent while their civilian relatives back home faced white phosphorus bombs dropped on their heads by Sri Lankan govt forces. It was an ill advised move on their part but PM Harper shares the blame for being silent during the MANY DAYS they peacefully protested in Ottawa and Toronto PRIOR to the road seizure incident. Since most of them were tax paying citizens who chose to stand out in the cold for days, he should have at least indirectly addressed their concerns but he chose not to do so. As a moderate Tamil-Canadian I can understand the PM's disdain for the LTTE (Tamil Tiger) flag which many of those protesters chose to wave but recognizing the emotional pain of seeing their loved ones being bombed by both sides of that conflict should have moved the Tories to make a moderate statement or at least explain why they would not support the UK and European Union efforts to modify the Sri Lankan govts behavior towards Tamils. Instead the PM just ignored them.
Conservatives should have heeded Gwynne Dyer and Bob Rae's advice Re: pushing Sri Lanka to comply with the federal reforms that India requested in exchange for India's naval blockade of the Tamil Tigers.
"I recall reading and answering every letter that had been sent to the minister."
Yeah.....I'll bet. With nice, condescending, computer generating little form letters that dismissed the publics concerns. After all the "little people" are just a bunch of knuckle dragging racists who can't possibly be as compassionate, tolerant and inclusive as our benevolent elected officials right?
Or maybe you're just gutless.
Tmorg, the protestors wanted to see Canada engaged more than just sending stern diplomatic notes.
They wanted them to physically intervene.
..and that was never going to happen.
No wonder Canada is headed for the scrap heap with wimpy bureaucrats like this guy in charge of things. They all talk like professors giving a lecture. No idea how the real world works. Geeesh!