Visit
our mobile site

The Globe and Mail
Go to the Globe and
Mail homepage

Jump
to main navigation
Jump
to main content

Search:

News

Quote

Web

Local

People

News SearchNews

by Google

Search Stock QuotesQuote

Search The WebSearch

by Google

Search People at canpages.caPeople

by Canpages.ca

Search Businesses at canpages.caBusiness

by Canpages.ca

Select
City

Select City

Calgary

Halifax

Montreal

Toronto

Vancouver

More cities

Help

Login

Register

Home

News

Commentary

Business

Investing

Sports

Life

Arts

Technology

Drive

Site map

Columnists

Cartoon

Editorials

Discussions

Opinion

Home

» News

» Commentary

» Editorials

•Our
Time to Lead

•New
Globe

The Look Ahead

Anthopoulos
gives Jays fresh start

Globe
Editorial

A bold move on human smuggling

From Monday's Globe and
Mail

Published Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010 5:30PM
EDT

Last updated Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010 8:28PM
EDT

44
comments

Email

Tweet

Print/License

Decrease
text size Increase
text size

Interpol calls people smuggling a transnational crime, a violation of human
rights and a contemporary form of slavery. It is also a growing phenomenon –
even in Canada, where two ships ferrying 568 Sri Lankan refugee claimants
arrived in less than 12 months.

The government is right, then, to introduce new legislation to combat human
smuggling, and to appoint Ward Elcock, former head of the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service, as a special adviser to stop the crime at its
source.

Poll

Should Canada impose stiffer penalties on human
smugglers?

Yes

No

Results
& past polls

56% 204 votes

Yes

44% 160 votes

No

Video

'Irregular'
migrants in Tories' sights

The government must act to safeguard the integrity of Canada's immigration
system, which welcomes 250,000 newcomers a year. Polls show that the public's
high level of support for immigration dipped by 20 per cent after the arrival of
the Sun Sea and Ocean Lady – even though asylum seekers and skilled immigrants
are two very different streams.

Large-scale arrivals of refugee claimants strain the system, and make it
difficult to determine their identity, and whether they are a security risk.

The Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act
proposes to make it easier to prosecute human smugglers, impose mandatory prison
sentences on convicted smugglers and hold ship operators to account.

The act also aims to deter asylum seekers from paying human smugglers by
introducing punitive measures, should they arrive in this manner. They can be
detained for up to one year. And, if their claims are approved, they may not
return to the country from which they are fleeing.

“The refugee debate is emotional. But human smuggling is a global phenomenon
and other target countries are cracking down, including Australia and the U.S.
Canada must do something,” says Sergio Karas, past chair of the Ontario Bar
Association's immigration section.

The act, however, goes too far by forcing successful claimants who entered
via human-smuggling ships to wait five years to apply for permanent residence,
and not letting them sponsor family members. Asylum seekers must be encouraged
to approach the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the first safe
haven they reach. But Canada should not deny citizenship rights to people who
are found to be genuine refugees, no matter how they managed to get here.
Overall, though, the thrust of the act is welcome. The government is right to
tackle this crime.

More related to this story

Kenney
insists on smuggling crackdown

Ending human
smuggling

The refugees'
choice

44
comments

Email

Tweet

Print/License

Decrease
text size Increase
text size

Today's
Must Reads

Report On Business
Loonie
surges, greenback sinks after weak G20 pledge

Technology
Olympus E-5
straddles consumer and pro DSLRs

Arts
So
what if you think TV sucks. I don’t care

Life
Get in touch
with your emotional calendar

Life
Is there such a
thing as a safe diet drug?

More from The Globe and Mail

News

PM
defends trade talks with Ukraine despite Kiev’s strong-arm tactics

Globe Investor

Morning
Meeting: A back door to Facebook

Life

Advice
from dad? No thanks, I'll just Google it

Globe Investor

The
missing pieces in banks' real-estate math

MOST POPULAR STORIES

Editorial
cartoons, October 2010

Sound,
fury and little substance

Debt,
the public's burden

A
bold move on human smuggling

The
price we pay for spending 6.2 hours in the ER

Back
to top

MORE TOP STORIES

Military

Canadians pick peacekeeping over combat

Opinions

A
stone's throw

Sports

Packers wrap-up Favre and Vikes

Arts

Hugh Dillon draws on rocker mindset for raw role in
Durham County

Your Business

Rocky economy can't derail train company

Globe Investor

The Fed's $1-trillion stoking

Photos

Best from the past 24 hours

The Nortel campus: From high-tech 'Disneyland' to
dinosaur

Around the NHL

Video

Katy Perry, Russell Brand wed

Mortuary open house

Human rights progress at the Francophonie: Harper

Globe2Go

e-Edition

Mobile

Newsletters

Newspaper

RSS

Home

News

Commentary

Business

Investing

Sports

Life

Arts

Technology

Drive

Site map

More Sections

Appointments

Births
& Announcements

Careers

Globe Campus

Classifieds

Classroom Edition

Contests

Deaths

Newspaper
Ads

Real
Estate

Special
Reports

Globe Plus

Subscribe

Globe Recognition

Recognition card

Advertise

Advertise with
us

Newspaper

Magazine

Online

Marketing Solutions
Group

Media
Central

Classifieds

Online

Help

Contact Us

Newspaper

Customer Care

Contact
Us

Staff

Press Room

Corrections

Subscribe

Vacation
Stops

Change
Address

Privacy
Policy

Terms
& Conditions

Disclaimer

© Copyright 2010 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Globe and Mail is a division of CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc., 444 Front St. W., Toronto, ON  Canada M5V 2S9
Phillip Crawley,
Publisher