It's just the latest in a string of legal battles that have played out since the arrival of nearly 500 Tamil asylum-seekers on the shores of B.C. in August 2010.
Refugee lawyers have argued that the Tamils are legitimate refugees from a country wracked by years of civil war, and face possible abuse or torture if sent back.
But the government has taken an aggressive stance to prove they are inadmissible to Canada and not genuine refugees - part of a wider effort to deter large-scale smuggling operations.
According to a recent Federal Court ruling, two of the Sun Sea's passengers are known to have been deported from Canada. One of them, identified as B005, was immediately detained upon returning to Sri Lanka in September 2012, even though a Sri Lankan judge had previously determined that he was neither a criminal nor a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the Tamil Tigers. He has since disappeared.
Another migrant, B016, was also detained upon his return to Sri Lanka in July 2011 and held for a year. During that time, according to an affidavit he later signed, he was beaten with plastic pipes, punched and kicked in the face, and deprived of food.
He was released only after his family paid a bribe to the army. But even after his release, he was required to report to the army once a week.
"I think they will kill me one day," the man wrote.
The man, who RCMP accused of being part of the smuggling operation, was reportedly killed last month after being hit by a truck. Yet representatives for the federal public safety minister have not disclosed details related to these two detentions at refugee-determination hearings, according to the Sept. 6 ruling by federal Judge Sean Harrington.
Gabriel Chand, a Vancouver lawyer representing some of the Sun Sea passengers, said Friday that the government has provided "incomplete, and therefore, misleading" evidence to Immigration and Refugee Board adjudicators assessing the Sun Sea migrants' refugee claims.
Melissa Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Immigration and Refugee Board, said Friday that the IRB has no authority to reopen a finalized refugee claim. The refugee claimant or the government has to submit an application, she said.
Anderson also noted that once a deportation order has been issued, it's up to the Canada Border Services Agency to carry out the removal.
Since the arrival in August 2010 of 492 passengers aboard the MV Sun Sea:
117 refugee claims have been accepted;
117 refugee claims have been rejected;
29 deportation orders have been issued;
2 passengers remain in detention.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Douglas Quan
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