Outlawed? Compassion for refugees

On September 26th 2007, American Janet Hinshaw-Thomas was arrested and charged by the Canadian Border Security Agency with "aiding and abetting" twelve Haitian refugees approach the Canadian border. All this 60 year old grandmother did was advise the refugees of their right to make a claim under Canadian law, and drive them up to (not across!) the border, where they could be interviewed by Canadian officials to determine their eligibility to claim asylum. Her van was confiscated; she was released on bail and is due to appear before a Montreal courthouse on November 30th, 2007. The Attorney General under whose purview this matter rests has so far not taken any remedial action except to pass the buck to another ministry.

This is 21st century Canada, decades after celebrating heroes like Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved the lives of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust by providing false documents, and John Brown and Harriet Tubman who led the anti-slavery abolitionist movements. This year Canada proudly celebrated its twenty-first anniversary of receiving the United Nations Nansen Medal, which recognized the thousands of compassionate Canadians who helped resettle refugees from East Asia.

This is the first time a human rights worker has been charged under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in Canada for this type of crime. Section 117 (1) of the act  reads: No person shall knowingly organize, induce, aid or abet the coming into Canada of one or more persons who are not in possession of a visa, passport or other document required by this Act.

This section of the act was specifically introduced to convict human smugglers and traffickers. When it was created, the Minister of Immigration firmly assured refugee advocates that section 117(1) neither intended nor would ever be used to criminalize humanitarian efforts that help refugees seek protection in Canada. But that was before September 11, 2001. Many things have changed in Canada since then, including a major shift in national priorities toward safety and security. A new national security plan created the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) to protect Canadian borders and enforce the removal of persons without legal status in Canada. Much of the CBSA’s efforts and resources go into preventing criminals from either entering or transporting weapons, drugs and other dangerous substances into Canada via the border. A tight watch is kept for persons of interest who try to cross the border, including those who may appear on a database of possible "terrorist" suspects, shared with the Americans.  Yes, the CBSA also keeps a close watch on smuggling and trafficking activities, despicable trades that prey on human misery and need.

Sadly, in our efforts to keep Canada safe from criminals and terrorists, we seem to have thrown out the baby with the bath water. Firstly, refugees are not criminals. They are no different from the millions of European refugees who fled the world wars in search of protection. In fact, criminals would not use the refugee system to enter Canada due to its rigorous determination process.

Secondly, although Canada complies with the Convention Regarding the Status of Refugees by not imposing any penalties on asylum seekers entering Canada without proper documentation or proper authority, the real problem is getting to Canada. Unlike European countries that share borders with refugee producing countries, Canada is geographically isolated. Under the cover of national security, Canada has managed to stop refugees from making claims for protection by intercepting them overseas or turning them back at the border under the safe third country agreement signed with the USA.

This places refugees at the mercy of smugglers who demand vast sums of money to find a way in. From driving freezer trucks packed with refugees across the border to dumping them in lifeboats in frigid waters, smugglers find innovative ways of overcoming the barriers that western countries have erected to ward off asylum seekers. That is the ugly side of this "human" enterprise as it has evolved.  

Efforts of people like Janet Hinshaw-Thomas, on the other hand, are completely the opposite. These are individuals who have dedicated their lives to helping people in need; they are people driven by intrinsic values of compassion and selflessness, not profit.

Arresting people for being Good Samaritans raises serious questions about our obligations to one another, especially to the less fortunate, and about our nation’s strength and leadership in promoting a culture of mercy and compassion. These questions, along with many other important issues, are going to be asked as the courts deliberate Janet’s case and put mercy and compassion on trial.

The Catalyst, autumn 2007, Volume 30 / Number 4