The Conservative government has shifted direction in its approach to dealing with migrant ships that arrive on Canadian shores, according to a report Wednesday.
In August, 492 Tamil migrants arrived in B.C. on a leaky ship that had set sail from Sri Lanka, triggering a public debate about whether such migrants should be allowed into Canada.
Earlier this week CTV reported that Immigration Minister Jason Kenney had drafted a proposal meant to deter such groups. Kenney, who had just returned from studying the Australians' approach to the problem, planned to create a new classification for asylum seekers who arrive in large groups.
But the Globe and Mail reported Wednesday that Prime Minister Stephen Harper has rejected Kenney's proposal and has handed the file over to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews.
That may indicate the government now views the issue as a criminal matter, which would fall under Toews' purview, rather than Kenney's.
Harper reportedly vetoed Kenney's proposal Tuesday night at a cabinet meeting and told the ministers to focus more on the organizers of the dangerous migrant trips.
Under Kenney's draft plan, migrants would have to wait two weeks for a detention hearing, rather than the current 48 hours.
That would ostensibly have given authorities more time to investigate migrants for possible criminal involvement before making a decision on whether they should be detained.
