I have received many emails and calls about the recent arrival of a boat load of 490 Tamils on our west coast. Many constituents are upset that our current immigration laws allow this type of thing to happen. I agree. Our current laws almost encourage human traffickers to take advantage of desperate immigrants wishing to come to Canada. This has to change!

There are legitimate cases of refugees seeking asylum in Canada. We are a compassionate country and try to accommodate these legitimate cases. The recent arrival of the foreign vessel, MV Sun Sea, is a much different situation. This incident appears to be the work of organized criminals. Preliminary investigation suggests this is a case of human smuggling, a most despicable crime. An old, decrepit ship was modified to accommodate 490 passengers for a 3 month voyage from Sri Lanka to Canada. Living conditions on this rusted out vessel registered in Thailand were horrible.

It appears passengers were charged up to $45,000 for the voyage, creating a $22 million pay day for the criminal organizers. Our Government will not allow Canada's generous immigration laws to be exploited by human traffickers. We will prosecute those responsible to the full extent of the law.

We are currently interviewing all 490 passengers to determine who are the criminals, who are the victims and if there are any Tamil Tigers on board. Many of you are asking why this ship was not prevented from entering Canadian waters. International laws currently prevent us from doing so. The best way for our Government to deal with this very serious problem was to wait until the ship entered Canadian waters and was subject to our Canadian laws.

We will deal with the current situation quickly, firmly and with justice. It is not fair for legitimate immigrants who obey our immigration laws and are awaiting approval of their cases to be pushed aside by criminals who exploit unsuspecting victims seeking a better life here in Canada. We must protect those applicants who have followed the rules. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and our Government are committed to dealing with this incident quickly and to press for international agreements to prevent similar cases from happening in the future. We will not become a destination point for criminals.

Our nation was built by hard working, honest immigrants. People who obeyed the law, paid their taxes, went to war and contributed to our cherished Canadian way of life. Our Government will not permit dishonest criminals to take over and abuse our immigration system. That is a promise!

Guy Lauzon MP