Canada Border Services Agency: Refugee Claimants

Canada Dept: A tougher approach may be necessary if a plan to speed up the screening process and block illegitimate claims isn't "aggressive enough" in reducing the number of Roma applicants from Europe, an internal Canada Border Services Agency report says, according to CBC. The newly revised refugee law gives Public Safety Minister Vic Toews the power to designate refugee claimants as "irregular arrivals" and detain them upon entry to Canada. The amendments are to take effect by the end of the year and the federal government is prepared to consider detaining Roma refugee claimants unless recent amendments to the refugee system are successful in reducing the number who apply for asylum, newly obtained documents suggest. "Other deterrent measures being examined include detention for mass arrivals of individuals seeking refugee protection," says the report, which was drafted before before the Conservative government introduced a crackdown in June on bogus refugee claims. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has power to designate refugee claimants as "irregular arrivals" and detain them upon entry to Canada. Frank Gunn/Canadian Press (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.