No more free-for-all
Thursday, August 19th, 2010Edmonton Journal, August 19, 2010
Canada cannot be a free-for-all entry point for people who want to immigrate. This would be utterly unfair to our taxpayers and to those who are trying to enter Canada by established, legitimate routes.
The people we are seeing on these boats are just the tip of the iceberg, as 90 per cent of people claiming refugee status enter Canada via our airports.
Most of the boat people we see are coming from Southeast Asia, many from Sri Lanka. Some are legitimate refugees fleeing persecution, many are economic refugees trying to find a faster way to a better life.
The key for us is to separate the two — protect and process the legitimate refugees, while sending those who are not refugees back to their country of origin to apply through normal channels.































