MINISTER 'SOFT ON REFUGEE DRUG DEALERS'

OTTAWA -- The federal government says it is closely monitoring the role of
refugee claimants in Vancouver's drug trade but its hands are tied until
courts convict dealers, Immigration Minister Lucienne Robillard said
Wednesday.

Reform MPs accused the minister of doing nothing to deal with allegations
about the involvement of refugee claimants in drug dealing.

"Drug dealers are abusing the refugee system to gain access to our
streets," said Reform deputy immigration critic Grant McNally
(Dewdney-Alouette).

"She's just pushing papers," he told the Commons. "Why doesn't she push
these pushers out of the country?"

Robillard said her department has set up a coordination committee to work
with local groups, including the police, "to try to see exactly what is
going on."

"Our department is very aware of the situation in Vancouver, we are
concerned by drug trafficking," Robillard replied.

The federal government has the legislative authority to kick refugee
claimants who deal drugs out of the country, but only after they are
convicted, she said.

"So when someone is accused of a crime this does not make them
automatically a criminal. We have to wait for the judicial process. But if
someone is found guilty then we can act."

Reform MPs said the minister hasn't done enough to prevent bogus refugees
from entering the country, and has been unable to deal with the refugee
claimant backlog.

McNally also complained that the government has been lax in removing
claimants who have been found guilty of crimes, who have either been
rejected as claimants, or who have not shown up for their hearing.

Refugee claimants from Honduras, in Central America, made up the majority
of the 73 drug dealers targeted last week in Project Scoop, a police blitz
aimed at ridding the Lower Mainland of drug dealers.

Figures from the Immigration and Refugee Board's (IRB) Vancouver office
indicate the majority of claims being made by Hondurans entering Canada are
false.

>From April this year to last week, the IRB has made 61 decisions on
Honduran claimants, of whom six were deemed to be real refugees.

Of that total, 34 never showed up for a hearing and are being sought by
immigration authorities.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski