Exactly how do Tamil Tigers and their supporters go through this process in Sri Lanka? Its normal for refugees to break laws and use false identification to escape persecution and death. If I were in their situation, I'd break any laws required short of harming someone else. Screw visas and proper identification.... Getting out alive with your family is more important than correctly filling out some forms.
I am proud of Canada's record of compassion and fairness regarding refugees. If these people cannot return to home, are no threat, have no place else to go, then we should accept them, pending a criminal background check.
Canada's refugee system:
The refugee system in Canada
That pretty much describe the situation of the people on that boat.
Most of the opinions expressed here are pretty callous and un-Canadian. Your attitudes are not that different than those which prevailed during the 1930's and 40's when Jewish refugees were fleeing Europe. When we sent those refugees back to Europe, most of them ended up in extermination camps.
There is a good chance that people who fought against the Sri Lankan government and their supporters would face persecution and death. Their plight is not that different than these people:
MS St. Louis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
That was a shameful moment in Canada's history. I don't support repeating that mistake with these people. Most of those people on the SS St Louis would have made model Canada citizens. I believe that most of these people fleeing war and persecution in Sri Lanka would also become model citizens, grateful to Canada for accepting them as refugees.
Many of you advocate extermination. Seventy years ago, Hitler also decided that extermination was an appropriate final solution to dealing with undesirables. The Nazis started out shooting them, but later on developed more efficient methods.
M.K. Ghandi and Jesus Christ would probably support a more compassionate approach to solving this problem.
The time to act against atrocities is at the time they occur. If this was 70 years ago, I'd support allowing the SS St. Louis refugees into Canada, just like I support allowing these Sri Lankan refugees into Canada today. I can guess what most of the people posting on this thread would have supported 70 years ago. Hitler would be proud of you.