RRU professor says migrant ship puts Canada in tough spot
The Province Newspaper
A vessel believed to be heading to the B.C. coast with over 200 Sri Lankan migrants could arrive in Canada as early as next week. The MV Sun Sea, suspected of carrying 213 asylum seekers, is expected to reach Canada within the first week of August, said the Colombo-based Sunday Observer, citing defence sources. The vessel is believed to have been originally headed for Australia before changing course en route. Australia, which has already processed over 80 boatloads of asylum seekers this year, has began clamping down on suspected people-smuggling ships, boarding them on the high seas to turn them away. As a result, Canada may become the next best option for some asylum seekers, said Royal Roads university security and peacebuilding expert Kenneth Christie. "Canada is in quite a difficult position," said Christie. "If it lets the Tamils in, it might be seen as a 'soft' option, but if they send them back to Sri Lanka, Canada might be seen as complicit to human rights violations because it would be sending them back to a place that has been accused of war crimes."
