Most asylum seekers from Sri Lanka deemed legitimate by Canada

The government of Canada is considering ways to prevent migrant smuggling because of the arrival in August this year of a ship with almost 500 Sri Lankan asylum seekers on board; however, the Canadian refugee determination process was designed to deal with people seeking asylum by landing on Canada's shores, fleeing for their lives.

According to data available from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, more than 340 Sri Lankan refugee claims were accepted during the first half of 2010. Less than 13% of refugee claims from Sri Lanka were rejected during the same time period. Approximately 700 claims are still in process. Most of the Sri Lankan claims are by Tamils. Although the civil war in Sri Lanka ended in May of last year, there still remain allegations of human rights abuses against Tamils (as confirmed by Amnesty International).

Asylum seekers are entitled to a fair hearing where the Immigration and Refugee Board decided if the claim for refugee status meets the definition and is legitimate. The claimant’s life must be in danger if he or she returns to the original country. If yes, then the claimants are provided refugee protection in Canada.

In Canada between 2006 and 2008, more than 30,000 refugee cases were heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board.