Tamil refugee ship in Canadian waters off B.C.
 

Surprised that no one has commented about this. How is the Canadian Government allowing this to take place? It was bad enough that the last ship carrying people was allowed to dock but now the 70 or so people on board are living in Toronto.

I am glad that I no longer pay taxes to the government for this kind of BS.

VICTORIA — After a long ocean journey, a ship believed to be carrying as many as 500 Tamil refugees is expected to reach the coast of British Columbia as early as Thursday evening.

The suspected Tamil migrant ship was inside Canada's 200-mile exclusive economic zone and heading for the B.C. coast, a senior federal official confirmed Wednesday.

"We expect it will land either late (Thursday) evening or early Friday morning," he said of the 188-foot Thai-flagged vessel called the MV Sun Sea.

The ship is thought to be engaged in "human smuggling and human trafficking, which is obviously a very dangerous thing," the federal official said, adding Canada has unconfirmed reports that one of the passengers has died.

The vessel was met by a Canadian navy ship from B.C.'s Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt when it reached Canadian territorial waters. It is unclear when exactly that happened.

The government fears other migrant ships may be on the way. It appears "we are becoming a target of human smugglers and human traffickers," the federal official said.

"We are looking to send a message to these people who are usually (part of) criminal organizations, in some cases with possible terrorist connections in the case of the Tamil Tigers . . . that we are not going to allow our laws to be broken."

He declined to provide details of what the federal government plans as the ship closes in on the Canadian shoreline.

U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Mark McCadden said that U.S. authorities were aware of reports of an 188-foot cargo ship bearing that name.

"The reports have it that the vessel is heading toward Canada, so this is a Canadian operation," McCadden said. "And as always, the coast guard stands ready to support the Canadians if requested."

McCadden said Wednesday that no requests for U.S. assistance in the matter had yet been made.

"We haven't made contact with the vessel but we are certainly aware of it," McCadden said. "And given the fact of what its alleged destination is, Canada is pursuing this one."

Staff members at the Victoria General Hospital were busy on Wednesday preparing to treat the migrants.

Some of the 500 migrants, including women and children, may have serious health problems after the three-month voyage, health officials said.

Staff safety will be a top priority when treating the illegal migrants, Norma Jones, emergency management corporate director with the Vancouver Island Health Authority, said in an e-mail to staff.

"This will include all required personal protective equipment as well as armed security services provided by corrections and/or border services officials," she said.

The coast guard has been tracking the ship's progress up the West Coast since July.

The ship will likely be boarded by the Canadian Border Services Agency, and then directed to Victoria harbour. When the cargo ship makes landfall, it's expected the passengers will be processed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials before being taken to two Vancouver-area jails to be housed.

The ship is the second in less than a year to arrive with Tamil refugees aboard. Last October, a smaller cargo ship, the Ocean Lady, was intercepted by HMCS Regina and taken to Victoria, where 76 Tamils disembarked.

Many speculated that some of the men aboard the Ocean Lady were members of the Tamil Tigers, the paramilitary arm of the Tamil independence movement. They were believed to have been fleeing Sri Lanka following the end of the island country's 25-year civil war between the Tigers, who claimed to represent the ethnic minority Tamils, and the Sri Lankan government.

So far, none of the 76 refugees have been linked to the Tamil Tigers, whose members are banned from entering Canada because it is considered a terrorist organization.

The migrants have since been released, pending the refugee claim process, and most are living in Toronto.

— Vancouver Sun, Victoria Times Colonist and Postmedia News
http://www.canada.com/news/national/...356/story.html

if this boat is allowed to land there is going to be 50 more leaving the next day for here.

this boat should not have been alowed to enter canadian waters. a navy ship should have forced it to turn around and head back.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Tami...379/story.html

IMO, the Navy and CBSA really needs to intercept the ship and make it turn around, with force if necessary.

I'm gonna be surprised if we actually turn them away.

Canadian policy will not allow us to turn them away. They will be brought here, jailed, then allowed to apply for refugee status.

:( :bullshit:

canadas laws and how we regulate things are a fuckin joke

Yup and are also setting up a floor in the Victoria hospital for them too, tying up medical staff and resources that could be better used on local Island residents. They claim it won't affect healthcare services for local residents but I call BS.

When you're diverting/calling in doctors, nurses and other medical staff to treat these Tamils (some of which are terrorists) how can that not possibly negatively affect our already strained and overworked healthcare system.

how the fuck can they say it wont tie up medical staff?? i say fuck em they let them die or go back, how do they get into a hospital while other vancouver citizens who pay taxes and medical and all that sit on the sidelines makes no sense...it seems that these kind of people,along with the homeless have more rights than the working class, or they just know how to exploit the flaws so well... canada needs to untuck thier junk and tell them to gtfo

/end rant

once they land probably another 30 ships gonna set out tommorow lol

And my parents had to put up a lot of money to legally immigrate to Canada?

The already long waiting list for medical services just got a bit longer.

Why are my fucking tax dollars paying for this???

dont worry you'll soon forget about this until the next time we get shafted :thumbsup:

We can't turn them away we're bleeding hearts Canadians and there is dead and dying people on board. (typed with a hint of sarcasm)

Really tho being the bleeding hearts we are I guess we could let them land but not leave the boat, tend to there immediate medical needs and shove em off back to sea.

They need to step up and set some examples unless they want vessels to land at the docks every month. Turn that ship around, no docking at all. I bet the U.S would send 5-10 boats holding enough ammunition to blow apart anything...and send the ship back...

You guys don't understand how this works.
If Canada boards the ship to turn it around and something happens, the entire world would be up our ass and then we would HAVE to accept all the other ships that will be coming.

let them dock, attend to needy, resupply/fix ship and then go back were you came from then send bill to appropriate country

And Tamil will definitely pay the bills
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Its not about paying the bill its the point thats being made and if they dont settle the bill then refuse assistance and aide if ever needed

What if the ship is in no condition to make it back?

I think I'm going to run out of fails on this thread.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_St._Louis

http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Komagata_Maru

then sink the fucker..along with everyone onboard it...

Hence why a lot of people are asking the government to "review" its policies.

I say we send some sumbmarine and blow it.

if i was ever sick and dying in the middle of the street. i hope to god none of you are around.

You're here legally and you pay taxes just like the rest of us.

People on the ship are here illegally and they don't pay our taxes yet they feel that it's ok to use our medical resources that could be used for actual citizens? Fuck that.