Ottawa, June 6, 2012 —The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, and the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism today made the following statement following the arrest of a Toronto man in the MV Sun Sea case. RCMP has also laid charges against two individuals who are not believed to be in Canada at this time, and Canada-wide warrants have been issued for their arrest.
We commend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on another important arrest in connection with this most reprehensible activity. Our government takes the crime of international migrant smuggling very seriously. That is why we introduced Bill C-31, the Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act. With this new legislation we enhance our ability to crack down on migrant smugglers, including making it easier to prosecute them, and introducing mandatory minimum sentences.
Canada is a generous and compassionate country that welcomes newcomers but Canadians are not naïve. Canada will not tolerate abuse of our immigration system for financial gain through the despicable crime of migrant smuggling.
The MV Sun Sea was a migrant vessel that brought 492 irregular migrants to Canada in August of 2010 as part of a migrant smuggling event. With the latest charges, a total of six men have now been charged for their involvement, three of whom are currently in Canadian police custody and one of whom is facing extradition from France.
For more information on the arrest and charges laid, please visit the RCMP web site: http://bc.rcmp.ca/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=50&languageId=1&contentId=25662
For more information on Protecting Canada's Immigration System Act, please visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada web site at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp
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Information:
Media Relations
Public Safety Canada
613-991-0657
media@ps-sp.gc.ca
Media Relations
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
(613) 952-1650
Building a stronger Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) strengthens Canada’s economic, social and cultural prosperity, helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.
