Jean Chretien has made it official. Interviewed last week at the APEC summit in New Zealand, the prime minister declared that a reform of immigration law to deal with the Chinese migrant crisis was out of the question. He declared that Canada's "first come, first served" refugee policy was "the law." What he did not say, however, is that Parliament may change the law or that other countries whose refugee law is similar to Canada's have somehow managed to meet migrant fleets without running up the white flag.

The Reform Party accused Mr. Chretien of "abandoning" his immigration minister, but perhaps he was trying to end her humiliation. Ms. Caplan told reporters August 31 worsening weather would halt the migrant fleet, at least for the year. Even as she spoke, however, the Coast Guard was meeting the third refugee boat to arrive since June 20.

A week later, in a September 9 speech to the Canadian Club in Vancouver, Ms. Caplan reiterated she would not be rushed into reforms. Canada will continue to be "compassionate," she affirmed, and all who arrive in Canadian waters will continue to enjoy the full protection of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Yet even as Ms. Caplan's audience listened, the authorities were preparing for the arrival of a fourth boat, then about 13 hours away. And while Ms. Caplan touted compassion, she refused British Columbia's request that Ottawa pay for the care and feeding of the almost 600 migrants and crew members who have been detained this summer, a cost of about $2 million a month. (The costs to the RCMP, the Immigration Department and the Defence Department are unreported.)

Before Mr. Chretien's intervention, Ms. Caplan had hinted at changes to the Immigration Act, including putting a greater onus on self-described refugees to prove their identity and their claims. She had harsh words for the people smugglers, the "snakeheads." Better detection, greater use of detention and harsh sentences would prove to them that Canada means business. (Last week, however, in another mockery of Ms. Caplan, an immigration adjudicator ordered the release of the captain of the first ship on bail of $2,000.)

Three days later the prime minister took charge, contending that the business of Canada was generosity and that under the Liberals compassion will always trump national sovereignty. "We have had this situation for a long time," he said. "The Canadian laws are well known. When you come to Canada and you apply for refugee status, the law applies. You come by plane; you come by boat; you walk; you swim; when you're on the ground you say you want to be a refugee, and the law of Canada applies."

Rene Mercier, Ms. Caplan's press secretary, denies a rift between his boss and Mr. Chretien, explaining the latter's comments as "probably in the context of what the Chinese had said earlier, that all we had to do is send back all these people who arrived by boat. Our law allows for these people to have a full hearing." He insists the minister is still considering reforms, including the increased use of detention and an expedited refugee process. "She's asking people to be a bit patient," he says.

She was less patient, however, with claims the migrants were being treated with less than tender, loving care. Coincident with her visit to the West Coast, which included a tour of CFB Esquimalt where 170 migrants were still being held, was a press conference in Victoria held by eight immigration lawyers. They alleged that RCMP officers had physically abused the detained refugees, by, among other things, pounding tables and pointing fingers. Ms. Caplan ordered an immediate investigation.

Ms. Caplan's words are music to the snakeheads' ears. A B.C. RCMP staff sergeant, who insists upon anonymity, and who has himself questioned some of the newest immigrants, says Chinese nationals have told him that as long as Canadian law remains lax, the immigrants will continue to arrive. Despite the lateness of the year, Canadian authorities are expecting the imminent arrival of more migrant ships, and the National Post reports that as many as 3,500 ocean-going migrants may have landed undetected in B.C. in recent years. And it seems certain a fifth boat, found deserted and floating off the Queen Charlotte Islands in mid-July, carried migrants. The ship sank before an investigation could proceed. But after the second intercepted boat had dumped its cargo of 140 people, a search of the region turned up a cache of blankets and clothing that indicated a previous landing.

Still, notwithstanding the summer flotilla, fully 95% of Canada's illegal immigrants arrive by plane, a fact long known by the Liberal government. The ships, however, are too obvious to be ignored. Meanwhile, the snakehead confederates operating in Canada have been utterly ignored, although smuggling operations would fail without their onshore preparations. It is generally believed, the Mountie reports, that the migrants on each ship are supposed to be off-loaded onto smaller boats before they are ferried into cities such as Prince Rupert. After their arrival, immigrants are driven to the Lower Mainland by bus or van; they then disappear into the general population.

This could explain why, just before arrival, the migrants have apparently changed into carefully stored good clothing and discarded the rags they have worn in transit. News photos of migrants fresh off the boat show them wreathed in smiles, wearing pressed shirts with clean collars. The pictures contradict the Immigration Department line that the migrants have endured months of hellish privation crammed into the holds of floating tombs. Police believe the smugglers' ships are deliberately selected for one-way journeys and then scuttled. "One ship was in such bad shape," the Mountie says, "that it had an inner tube for a fuel line." Another was a condemned Russian fishing vessel with signs attached indicating it had been consigned to scrap.

John Thompson, executive director of the Mackenzie Institute, argues that it matters not whether a migrant ship is off-loaded by criminals, or whether Canadian officials do the off-loading for them—the snakehead has completed his mission. "The key is just to get them here," he says. "After that, the immigrant owes them money or in some cases has already paid them money. Either way, for the snakehead it's money in the bank." Mr. Thompson doubts the weather will much affect the human cargo trade. "They have access to weather reports just like everyone else," he says. "They'll have a good idea where the storms are. So what if people get a little seasick."

The Liberal government is taking steps to halt the influx, but it has decided the problem is best treated not at home but abroad. Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy met Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan at the APEC summit and afterward announced a five-month agreement to battle international crime, including migrant smuggling. Curiously, the Chinese seem more concerned than the Canadians. "Repatriation of the whole boat and the whole batch [of migrants] is the best way to shatter [migrants'] unrealistic expectations," said government spokesman Sun Yuxi. "If Canada rejects their applications for asylum, this will help to crack down on illegal immigration."

Mr. Axworthy and other Liberals claim that Canada's refugee policy is determined by United Nations conventions. Yet other signatories to UN protocols permit the arrival of far fewer migrants claiming refugee status per capita than Canada without rebuke from the UN. Two examples are Australia and the United States.

Australia, like Canada, a vast country with a small population—16 million—is suffering its own boat people invasion. While 200 arrived in 1998, 1,200 have arrived already, in about 40 boats, in 1999. Steven Weeks, first secretary for immigration at the Australian High Commission in Ottawa, reports, "Usually if there's a boat we suspect is carrying illegal entrants into Australian water, we interdict that vessel, usually take control of the vessel and escort it to an Australian port. Then the passengers are processed. Usually they don't have any identification." Most claim refugee status and are processed by a refugee determination system similar to Canada's. Unlike Canada, where claims take three years to be adjudicated, Australia processes its claims in six to eight months. Rejected applicants may appeal the decision to an independent tribunal. After that, they may appeal to the federal court but only on matters of law.

There are other significant differences. "Any person who arrives by boat as an illegal entrant faces mandatory detention," Mr. Weeks explains. Entrants are held from their time of their arrival until the time their status is decided. They are sheltered and fed while in detention but are not allowed to apply for welfare benefits, as in Canada. Detention facilitates deportation, and, indeed, most of the migrants arriving in Australia are not genuine refugees. Mr. Weeks reports that 85% of those who arrive by ships and claim refugee status are rejected. Canada's rejection rule is 46%.

Australia is determined to scotch rumours it welcomes illegal immigrants avidly. It is widely believed, Mr. Weeks says, "that come the millennium there is amnesty for all illegal immigrants. Another is that there are endless jobs available on the [Sydney 2000] Olympic building sites. Especially in China, in Fujian province, where most of the boat people come from, we are going through the media to say this is not true, and if anyone comes illegally to Australia, they will be dealt with quickly and returned home." Australia has also increased its maximum penalties for those involved in smuggling, to 20 years and a fine of AU$220,000 (Cdn$219,000).

Chinese also try to enter the U.S. by boat, although more Cubans and Haitians do. "They started trying to come to Guam, which is in the Pacific. It's a U.S. territory and our Immigration and Nationality Act applies there," explains Don Mueller, spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In the last year about 19 ships have either reached or tried to reach Guam. Of the last seven boats that tried, six were interdicted before arrival.

Unlike Australia, the U.S. interdicts vessels in international waters. If a flagless, stateless ship is heading for U.S. territory, the Coast Guard will attempt to board it. "If at all possible, we try to conduct our interviews with specially trained officers on board boats or take them to where the Immigration and Nationality Act does not apply and conduct them there," Mr. Mueller says. "Anyone who has legitimate protective concerns we then bring to the United States. If they're economic migrants, they're returned to China."

One vessel was interdicted in mid-August between the islands of Guam and Tinian; 141 of the migrants were deported September 9. About 400 Chinese migrants were deported in June from five boats interdicted in April and May. Over 100 of the migrants in Canada have not made refugee claims, and almost 100 have been ordered deported; so far all remain in Canada and are likely to remain for several years, if they do not disappear. While Mr. Mueller has no exact numbers, he said the "vast majority" of Asian boat people headed to the U.S. are deported. "It's a pretty quick process," he stresses. "That serves as a deterrent. The number one thing we want to do is deter people from getting on these boats. They're filthy, they rarely, if ever, have any lifesaving equipment, no life vests, they frequently run out of water and food and migrants are abused by the snakeheads acting as enforcers on these boats. We'd rather they came here legally."

The U.S. does not detain all refugee claimants. "A number of factors are weighed, not the least is whether we have detention space available," Mr. Mueller says. The priority is detaining criminal aliens. Released migrants are not allowed to work or collect welfare; they are often cared for by church charities. About 40% of those who reach U.S. soil are eventually granted asylum.

Lawyers for the Chinese migrants in B.C. have argued against detention. Shane Molyneaux, who represents five women detainees from the first ship, said in a Vancouver Sun column that detention "is an attempt to stigmatize and criminalize entire groups of people simply because of the region where they are coming from." However, an Immigration Department profile of the Fujian migrants notes they are likely to flee before their claims are heard; 70% of all Chinese refugee claimants in Vancouver fail to appear at hearings.

Mr. Mercier, Ms. Caplan's press secretary, says Canada has nothing to learn from Australia or the U.S. "This country has a unique situation," he says. "We have a Charter of Rights to respect." Nothing in the Charter, however, prevents Canada from indicting migrant ships in international waters.

The Liberals may brandish the Charter as a kind of talisman, but the public is not appeased, especially in B.C. A Global News poll of 500 British Columbians conducted by McIntyre and Mustel and released September 17 reveals that only 32% believe the boat people should be allowed to claim refugee status, while 57% say they should be deported immediately. Popular opinion is being translated into political action. Last week Reform Party leader Preston Manning demanded that refugee determinations of migrants be concluded within a week of arrival and that failed claimants be deported without appeal. He added that if this is found to contravene the Charter, the notwithstanding clause should be used. Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark demanded that all migrants should be held in detention. And it is accepted wisdom that the return of Parliament has been delayed until October because the Liberals are deathly afraid of the immigration issue.

And nothing short of profound reform will halt the migrant ships, argues Daniel Stoffman, an Ontario journalist who has written on the immigration question for both the right-wing C.D. Howe Institute and the left-wing Toronto Star. While the Liberals treat the migrant crisis as a supply problem, he considers it a demand problem. "It's what experts call the 'pull factor,'" he says. "We have the world's strongest pull factor for immigration."

Rejecting accusations of racism, he points out that the Chinese are better represented among immigrants to Canada than any other race. He blames the migrant crisis on the so-called stakeholders: "We have a lot of people who want to come and a big industry here who feed off it. The government listens to the industry; it doesn't listen to the polls, which call for a more moderate, traditional policy like we used to have in the '50s or '60s."

Mr. Stoffman believes the mandatory detention of migrants would have a salutary effect. "These Chinese people are coming because they know they can get released eventually and go underground," he asserts. "If they keep them in detention, that will cut that off." Of the 76 migrants released so far (not including children in the care of the province), 37 have already disappeared. And 10 of the 66 youths in the province's care are missing. Mr. Stoffman calls this "totally predictable." (Although the migrants and crew of all the ships but the first intercepted in B.C. this summer have been detained—except for minors—mandatory detention is not yet government policy.)

He cautions, however, that the interdiction of migrant ships in international waters might be beyond Canada's ability (see story, page 26). "[The U.S.] has a much bigger navy than we have," he points out. "In the Pacific, there are American territories they can be sent to." (While the U.S. Immigration Act applies to Guam, it does not apply to all U.S. overseas possessions.) While Mr. Stoffman insists he does not want to deny legitimate refuges asylum, he notes that Canada is singularly liberal in its definition of "refugee." "When the Immigration and Refugee Board was just getting going, the acceptance rates was 80%, 90%, 70%, compared to 10% everywhere else," he says. "Now it's about 50%, still about five times higher than anywhere else."

Ultimately, however, "Because Canada is not a country of first asylum, it's really illegitimate for people showing up here to make refugee claims." For example, "If you're a legitimate Sri Lankan refugee, you go across the street, which is India." As he puts it, if your house is burning, you run across the street for safety—you do not jump a plane, or sail a boat, to another country thousands of miles away. BCR

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