Mandatory Detention

Refugee Status Dept: The number of people claiming refugee status in Canada is falling, mostly because of efforts to prevent those who might claim asylum from ever getting here to file a claim. But very few ever came by boat, according to Globe and Mail. When the two ships of Tamils arrived, the Harper government went on a tear over human smuggling. But year-long mandatory detention for the passengers, without any review, is excessive. It was more than what was necessary for identity and security checks, which is the point of detention. It was a deterrent that was unlikely to deter. It was a political response and getting refugee policy right has a big impact on our foreign policy. The flow of people is increasingly central to how countries interact. The hurdles we set up to keep people away like visas have a major impact on foreign relations and trade. Mr. Kenney s bill proposing mandatory year-long detention was sparked by the arrival of two rusty ships off the British Columbia coast in 2009 and 2010, bringing 568 Tamils to claim asylum. About a decade before, a few ships from China caused a furor for the then-Liberal government, but there were none in between. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.