VANCOUVER – Prime Minister Stephen Harper today toured the MV Ocean Lady, the migrant vessel which federal authorities intercepted in October 2009 after it illegally brought 76 Tamil migrants from Sri Lanka to Canadian waters.

“While our Government continues to encourage legitimate immigration by those who play by the rules, we are cracking down on illegal human smuggling,” said Prime Minister Harper.  “With the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act, our Government is sending a clear message that we will not tolerate the abuse of our generous immigration system.”

The arrival of migrants aboard both the MV Ocean Lady in 2009 and the MV Sun Sea in August 2010 demanded action to deter such arrivals.

Swift measures have been taken by our Government including:

Introducing Bill C-49, the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act, in October 2010 to prevent human smugglers from abusing Canada’s immigration system and to crack down on human smuggling operations used to jump the queue.  The bill is currently at Second Reading in the House of Commons.

Appointing a Special Advisor on Human Smuggling and Illegal Migration in October 2010 to address the issue.

Holding roundtable meetings with Canadians between October 2010 and January 2011 in Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver to discuss the Act with Canadians and get a better understanding of their views. 

Further strengthening cooperation with international partners on combating human smuggling. 

“We must maintain the integrity of our immigration system,” added Prime Minister Harper. “Legal immigration will ensure that Canada has the labour supply it needs to continue our recovery from the global economic recession.”



Backgrounder
MV OCEAN LADY TOUR
Preventing the Abuse of Canada's Immigration System by Human Smugglers

Since the arrival of the migrant vessels MV Ocean Lady in 2009 and MV Sun Sea in 2010 on British Columbia’s shore, the Harper Government has taken action to prevent the abuse of Canada’s immigration system by human smugglers. The following is a summary of our Government’s actions to date:

Processing of migrants

• Worked to confirm the identities and investigate potential security and criminal threats, through the processing of migrants who arrived on both the MV Ocean Lady and the MV Sun Sea.
• Release under terms and conditions imposed by the Immigration and Refugee Board of the 76 passengers who arrived on the MV Ocean Lady in October 2009.
• Continuing to detain 95 passengers from the MV Sun Sea in immigration detention, as of February 18.  This includes the detention of 10 individuals who remain in immigration detention because they were unable to meet their terms and conditions of release or the Federal Court has ordered that they stay in detention pending the outcome of litigation concerning their release.  As of February 18, 2011, 348 passengers from the MV Sun Sea have been released from immigration detention.

• Introduced the Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act on October 21, 2010. The Bill is currently in second reading.