The MV Sun Sea, carrying 492 would-be Tamil refugee claimaints from Sri Lanka, arrived last September in Victoria, B.C.
Photograph by: Darren Stone, Postmedia News/MCT
By Douglas Quan, Postmedia News
VANCOUVER — One of the Tamil migrants who arrived in Canada aboard the MV Sun Sea last year worked as a mechanic for the banned Tamil Tigers organization, but does that make him a member?
That was the question at the heart of an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing Friday that probed the man's admissibility to the country and served as the first test of the strength of the government's security concerns about some of the migrants.
A representative for the Canada Border Services Agency argued that the man's work and activities amounted to membership in the Tigers — banned in Canada as a terrorist organization — and therefore he should not be allowed to remain in the country.
But the migrant's lawyer said the government's evidence of his client's membership in a terrorist organization is thin.
Friday's hearing was the first since the arrival of the Sun Sea last August to probe whether one of its passengers should be removed from the country. Up until now, all the hearings have focused on the issue of whether they should be kept in detention.
The Canada Border Services Agency has so far requested so-called admissibility hearings for about 32 of the Tamil migrants, mostly on the grounds that they pose a security threat because of alleged membership in the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, or because of alleged serious criminal pasts.
Those Tamils deemed inadmissible are subject to removal orders, effectively quashing any chance they have of proceeding with their refugee claims.
The migrant who was the subject of Friday's admissibility hearing — who can only be identified as "B173" due to a publication ban — testified that he did live for a time in an LTTE-controlled area and worked at a garage run by the LTTE where he fixed buses. He said he also helped a relative repair motorcycles belonging to LTTE members.
The man acknowledged helping the LTTE dig bunkers and once attending a roadside drama performed by LTTE members "depicting the difficulties the public undergo in army-controlled areas." But under questioning from his lawyer, Eric Purtzki, the man said that he never formally joined the LTTE because he was "afraid to die."
Asked whether he was sympathetic with the Tigers, the man replied: "I had a feeling they were trying to help the Tamil population but I didn't have the feeling that I should encourage it." The man said he never trained with them or gave them money.
But Becky Chan, the CBSA representative, said it didn't matter that the man wasn't a formal member of the LTTE. He worked as a mechanic for the organization and attended LTTE meetings and celebrations, she said.
"His activities furthered the goals of the LTTE."
At one point in her cross-examination of the migrant, Chan attempted to point out discrepancies between the man's testimony on Friday and statements he gave in prior interviews.
But Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicator Marc Tessler stopped her and said she was dealing in "minutiae."
Purtzki countered that his client's activities didn't rise to the level of membership in the LTTE and suggested the government was "stretching" the concept of membership.
By living in an LTTE-controlled territory, residents are bound to come into contact with the Tigers, he said.
There is nothing to show his client has deep inside knowledge of the LTTE, Purtzki said, adding that the LTTE is tightly controlled and characterized by a high degree of organization with members who have specific ranks and roles.
The adjudicator reserved decision on the migrant's admissibility.
The Tamil Tigers were engaged in a lengthy civil war with the Sri Lankan government that ended with the Tigers' defeat in 2009. The group is considered a terrorist organization and is banned in Canada.
The other migrants who are scheduled for admissibility hearings include a man who allegedly appeared in a movie promoting the Tamil Tigers and was paid by the Tamil Tigers to teach karate; a man who allegedly worked for a newspaper with ties to the LTTE; and a man who allegedly transported people and supplies to sites where the LTTE was constructing bunkers.
Sunday marks the six-month anniversary of the Sun Sea's arrival off the B.C. coast, an event that touched off a nationwide debate about Canada's immigration and refugee system and promises from the Harper government to crack down on human smuggling operations.
Tory cabinet ministers are pushing legislation that would toughen jail terms and fines for those found guilty of human smuggling. The legislation also seeks to deter migrants from using human smugglers by allowing authorities to detain them for up to a year and barring them permanent residence status for five years. Opposition parties have vowed to vote it down.
Of the 492 Tamils who arrived in B.C. last August, 107 remain in detention — 101 men and six women.
Federal budget estimates released earlier this week suggested that the MV Sun Sea case has cost the government more than $25 million.
Source: ottawacitizen
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