In an interview on CTV Express today Mr. Levine discussed a recent article in the Taiwan Times which reported that a massive smuggling ring was recently discovered operating in Taiwan. The discovery of the ring was a result of an international effort involving authorities from Taiwan, Canada and Australia. The smuggling ring had been sending people to Canada and Australia in groups of 1 to 4 people.
Of particular interest is the question whether the Minister, under the new legislation (Balanced Refugee Reform Act recently ameded by the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act) will designate such persons as “irregular arrivals”. If so designated the consequences are draconian and result in automatic detention with a review once in the first 14 days and then every 6 months thereafter. Refugees who arrive and are not so designated are rarely detained and when they are detained they are entiled to a review within the first 48 hours and then within 1 week and then once every month thereafter.
Note that Mr. Levine’s discussion of this issue in the CTV interview stated that the legislation had not been “enacted” when he intended to indicate that the legislation has not yet been implemented. The amended legislation gained Royal Assent in late June 2012.
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