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CSIS predicts fewer refugee claimants
Security measures to cut number to lowest total in 20 years: report

James Gordon
The Ottawa Citizen


October 9, 2005


Post-Sept. 11, 2001, global security measures and increased immigration controls are expected to chop the number of refugee claims in Canada this year to the lowest total in two decades.

According to an internal CSIS briefing on illegal immigration and terrorism -- obtained under the Access to Information Act -- the Canada Border Services Agency estimates there will be 18,500 claims this year, down from 44,719 in 2001.

While the spy agency says the number of "questionable claimants" hidden in that group has also dropped, refugee advocates worry Canada is abandoning legitimate asylum-seekers to guard against the few that abuse the system.

The heavily censored CSIS document (14 pages regarding "implications for Canada" are completely blacked out) provides a hawkish overview of current immigration issues.

It notes some inland refugee claimants are "particularly worrisome," adding it's especially important for the government to determine what tactics they use to enter the country and learn how to counter them.

It also points out four of five alleged Islamic extremists who were, or continue to be, jailed under immigration security certificates were refugee claimants.

"Thus the Canadian experience with Islamic extremism has been that while most immigrants are not terrorists, most Islamic terrorists have been immigrants," it reads.

While the sharp drop in claims is presented as a positive security step, Queen's University law professor and refugee expert Sharryn Aiken suggests Canada, in its zeal to halt illegal migration, is failing those who need its help most.

"Nobody is suggesting we shouldn't be safeguarding our countries against would-be terrorists, but the problem is how to separate them out," says Ms. Aiken. "Unfortunately, the legal tools that most countries have adopted provide very little protection for refugees."

Ex-CSIS spy Michel Juneau-Katsuya says although the refugee system is one mode used by extremists to enter the country, those abusing the system represent the "infinite minority."

"We've got to be careful about the fear-mongerers that are promoting the refugee stream as a place to bash," said

Mr. Juneau-Katsuya, who now works in Ottawa as a security consultant. He notes the government faces a "phenomenal challenge" in determining who is legitimate and who isn't.

Since the 9/11 attacks, Canada has implemented several measures to reduce the number of claimants accessing the country.

Last year, it launched the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, which allows signatories to turn away potential refugees at land borders if they arrived in the other nation's jurisdiction first.

Human Rights Groups have blasted the move, pointing out acceptance rates are much lower in the U.S. and claimants are often kept in jails while their cases are processed.

While the pact has contributed to the recent drop in claimants, Ms. Aiken argues increased international security collaboration and the use of overseas Migration Integrity Officers (MIOs) have had the harshest impact.

MIOs, which have existed in different forms since 1989, are responsible for stopping threats before they get to the country by checking for fraudulent documents and ensuring proper travel visas have been issued. In 2002, their powers were expanded to include an intelligence-gathering role for interdiction purposes.

The direct impact of MIOs is evident in the CSIS report, which estimates "improperly documented arrivals" in Canadian airports will fall 45 per cent this year to 1,600 -- the lowest total since statistics were first collected in 1989.

Last year, more than 5,000 people were stopped at overseas airports attempting to board planes to Canada.

Despite fears some asylum-seekers who have no choice but to use improper documents

to flee persecution are being abandoned without protection, Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesman Greg Scott says the country is meeting its international obligations.

MIOs can refer potential refugee claimants to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, he says, which can then recommend people for resettlement in Canada.

Mr. Scott disagrees with CSIS's interpretation of the refugee claim numbers, arguing they could be down for "any whole host" of geopolitical reasons. "The numbers are down worldwide," he said. "It's part of a global trend that obviously all countries are interested in addressing."

Nick Summers, president of the Canadian Council for Refugees, disagrees Canada is doing its part to help asylum-seekers. He says laws like the Safe Third Country will only force migrants to find other means to enter, such as hiring human smugglers.

The CSIS report vaguely addresses the smuggling issue, explaining crossover between human, arms and drug trafficking is increasing as "entrepreneurial operators" along the Canada-U.S. border discover the benefits of expanding their enterprises.

Criminal organizations are using "already trained personnel, already acquired means, already tested trafficking routes, already developed corruption networks and already existing contacts in different countries of the world in order to move into other profitable areas of smuggling."

Fees charged to sneak people across the border currently top out at around $65,000 per trip.

The report adds human smuggling into Canada isn't run exclusively by North American criminals. Border officials believe specific Albanian and Russian organized crime may be involved as well.