What happened down on the farm?
By Stephanie Findlay - Tuesday, May 24, 2011 - 0 Comments
A recent B.C. complaint is the latest in a series of controversies relating to the rights of migrant agricultural workers in Canada
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), a union that represents food industry workers in Canada and the U.S., filed a complaint to the B.C. Labour Relations Board against the Mexican government and a Mission, B.C.-based farm, for allegedly blocking the return of a seasonal Mexican worker to Canada for his involvement in a union. The UFCW claims it has a Mexican government report blacklisting Victor Robles Velez, who had worked the last four years at Sidhu & Sons Nursery Ltd., for his union involvement. “The Mexican consulate has gone to the farms and injected themselves in the democratic process by telling workers and threatening workers that if they unionize or vote for a union they’ll be sent back to Mexico immediately,” says Wayne Hanley, the UFCW president. The hearing for the complaint, filed last month, is expected to take place in the next couple of weeks.
The Mexican consulate in Vancouver and the owners of the farm categorically deny the charges. “Absolutely not, there is no blacklist,” says a consulate spokesperson, adding the consulate has “absolute respect for the workers’ right to join the unions.”
The B.C. complaint is the latest in a series of controversies relating to the rights of migrant agricultural workers in Canada. Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a controversial ban on collective bargaining rights for migrant agricultural workers in Ontario, a decision critics say benefits employers and leaves foreign workers vulnerable. Andy Neufeld, a communications director with the UFCW, says that, if proven, the B.C. complaints have national, even international, consequences. “We’re talking about a government’s interference with their citizens’ rights,” says Neufeld, adding, “It would be surprising if somehow we were special out here in B.C. and this was an isolated incident.”
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Detention of Tamil migrants costs $18-million
By macleans.ca - Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 1:24 PM - 5 Comments
107 remain in detention; 5 found to have links to Tamil Tigers
The Canada Border Services Agency says that the detention of the more than 300 Tamil migrants that arrived on the coast of B.C. last August has so far cost $18-million. In all, 107 Tamil migrants remain in custody, and only five have been indirectly linked to the Tamil Tiger fighters, classified as a terrorist group under Canadian law. Canada Border Services said that the total cost of detention per person is about $190 per day.
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First Tamil migrant released from detention
By macleans.ca - Tuesday, September 14, 2010 at 12:33 PM - 0 Comments
Pregnant woman let go to take care of her children
A pregnant woman is the first of 492 Tamil migrants who arrived by Thai cargo ship in Victoria earlier this summer to be released from detention. Lawyers for the woman successfully argued she should be freed in order to care for her three young children. The other detainees who arrived on August 13 aboard the MV Sun Sea are being held due to fears that some may have connections to the Tamil Tigers, an outlawed organization in Sri Lanka. All seek to remain in Canada as refugees.
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Six in 10 say Tamil boat should have been "escorted back to Sri Lanka"
By macleans.ca - Friday, August 20, 2010 at 11:36 AM - 0 Comments
Poll says only 17 per cent agree that Tamils are political refugees
Six in 10 Canadians say the recent boat of Tamil migrants should have been “escorted back to Sri Lanka by the Canadian Navy,” according to a poll by QMI Agency, taken from August 2-4. Only 17 per cent agreed they should be “accepted into Canada as political refugees.” However, 24 per cent were unsure or did not want to answer the question. Albertans were, by far, the most likely to agree that the boat should be sent back, at 74 per cent. The Canadian Tamil Congress said it believes the poll results reflect general feelings toward the immigration system, rather than opposition to the Tamils themselves. “People may be reacting to certain words such as queue-jumpers and human smugglers,” spokesperson Manjula Selvarajah told Sun Media. “If people understood the immigration and refugee system and the process in place, they may have a bit more faith in the system.” Initial hearings for the 490 migrants on board the MV Sun Sea have mostly wrapped up and the migrants are being housed in BC jails until their refugee hearings take place.
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What do you think of the government’s handling of Tamil asylum-seekers in B.C.?
By macleans.ca - Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 5:09 PM - 0 Comments
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Harper says Tamil migrants could prompt changes to Canadian law
By macleans.ca - Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at 4:10 PM - 0 Comments
‘This trend gives us some significant concern’
Stephen Harper is warning the government won’t be as welcoming of future asylum seekers who arrive on Canada’s shores like those aboard the MV Sun Sea did last week. Speaking to reporters in Mississauga on Tuesday, the prime minister said Ottawa “will not hesitate to strengthen the laws if we have to” in order to prevent more ships from coming to Canada. The opposition Liberals have criticized the Harper government for focusing on security issues in connection with the arrival of nearly 500 Tamil would-be refugees from Sri Lanka. Harper’s Tuesday press conference suggested his government isn’t about to change tack. “We are responsible for the security of our borders, and the ability to welcome people, or not welcome people, when they come,” he said. “This trend gives us some significant concern, and we’ll take whatever steps are necessary going forward.”
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Migrant ship was a “test boat”
By macleans.ca - Monday, August 16, 2010 at 4:15 PM - 0 Comments
Public safety minister suggests other migrants are waiting to see how Ottawa handles refugee claims
Calling the ship that carried 490 Tamil migrants to Canada last Friday a “test boat,” Public Safety Minister Vic Toews suggested on Monday that “other boats may be waiting to see what the Government of Canada’s reaction is to it.” Ottawa has already said humanitarian considerations preclude turning away similar ships, but the federal government is looking at prosecuting those who profit from organizing the voyages. “The sanitation on that ship was far in excess of what it usually be outfitted with,” Toews said. “It was clearly designed to maximize the number of passengers on board and therefore maximize the amount of profit that the organization running this ship would achieve.” Hearings of refugee claims by the Tamil migrants were set to begin on Monday. A letter written by some of the asylum seekers and obtained by the National Post argues those aboard the MV Sun Sea are fleeing persecution and violence in Sri Lanka. “We have traveled for almost four months with much suffering and pain. We have come here, to this wonderful country Canada, to protect ourselves and our family members from the murders, disappearances and violence that still exist in our native country,” it read. “As a country which has embraced immigrants and migrants, we hope and believe that you will accept us, the refugees and we vow to wholeheartedly abide by the law and order of this country.”
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Victoria hospital prepares for Tamil migrants sick with TB
By macleans.ca - Thursday, August 12, 2010 at 2:39 PM - 0 Comments
Canadian officials still mum on how they will respond to incoming voyagers
A closed ward at Victoria General Hospital is being prepared for dozens of Tamils on a migrant ship heading toward the B.C. coast who are believed to have contracted tuberculosis during the voyage. An estimated 300 to 500 Tamils are believed to be on board the cargo ship, which has been at sea since last April, but sources told the Toronto Star it is unclear how many of the migrants on board the MV Sun Sea are sick with TB. The MV Sun Sea is a Thai-registered cargo ship and was turned away earlier from Thailand and Australia. All of the migrants, who officials are expecting to make refugee claims, will undergo a rigorous health examination in an isolated area as they disembark. Canadian officials are revealing little detail of how they plan to respond to the incoming voyagers, including what agencies or officials had been dispatched to intercept, board and begin the likely months-long investigation into who exactly is on the ship.
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B.C. prisons prepare for arrival of Tamil migrants
By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 2:37 PM - 0 Comments
As many as 200 Tamils believed to be headed for Canada aboard the MV Sun Sea
The wardens at Fraser Regional Corrections Centre and Alouette Correctional Centre for Women are reportedly preparing for the arrival of an estimated 200 Tamil migrants travelling on board the MV Sun Sea. The prisons are the same ones that were used to house 76 Tamil migrants who arrived aboard the MV Ocean Lady in 2009. The Canadian Tamil Congress claims the migrants are refugees and not threats to national security. “We understand that Canadian security is paramount to everything, including Tamil Canadians,” says David Poopalapillai of the Canadian Tamil Congress. “At the same time, we are cautioning our government and our fellow Canadians to please reserve judgment until we hear from the people on-board.” The Foreign Affairs Department, the CBSA, the RCMP and Canadian Coast guard have not yet confirmed where the ship is.
