The idea that 490 Tamil migrants would risk 90 days at sea on a creaky vessel to escape their recently war-torn country for a better life in Canada creates sympathy among even the hardest-hearted among us. But the federal government has very good reasons to ensure that Canada doesn't become the top destination for Sri Lankan refugee ships. For behind this enterprise is criminality - human smugglers and, very possibly, Tamil Tiger terrorists. Ottawa needs to send a strong signal that it will deal harshly with those engaged in what Public Security Minister Vic Toews called the "despicable crime" of human smuggling.
The MV Sun Sea is now in Canadian waters, and its human cargo are being processed according to Canada's refugee laws. All refugees, once they arrive in Canada, are treated equally.
But refugees arriving by ship are a special case. International airlines spend a lot of time and resources stopping undocumented passengers from boarding planes headed for Canada. While the same principle should apply to maritime travel, the vessels themselves are often operated by criminals, who would never conduct such checks. They demand tens of thousands of dollars of each aspiring refugee in exchange for the risky journey.
Human smuggling is dangerous and intolerable. The federal government should be collaborating more closely with intelligence and security agencies in Asia to intercept these kinds of vessels.
Mr. Toews expressed frustration that criminals are abusing Canada's refugee system, but he failed to outline specific strategies to stop them, even as he observed that human traffickers overseas are "watching this situation" and may send more ships with undocumented migrants to the B.C. coast.
Legally, policy makers have concluded it is difficult to justify boarding migrant smuggling vessels in international waters. But they have diplomatic options. Canada can create formal treaties with countries such as Cambodia and Thailand to intercept ships ferrying undocumented passengers bound for Canada which pass through their waters, as the Sun Sea did.
There are options available for Tamils who believe they have legitimate refugee claims. Those who boarded the Sun Sea in Thailand could have gone to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok, and applied for asylum there. There are also UNHCR offices in Indonesia and India which process Sri Lankan claimants. While these nations are not signatories to the UN refugee convention, thousands of Sri Lankan refugees live in all three countries, albeit often in camp-like conditions.
But Canada must ensure the integrity of its borders, and act pre-emptively so that Tamil Tiger terror networks do not re-emerge here. And Canada must not become the country of choice for smugglers profiting from human misery.