Thomson report

Almost half of Canadians believe Tamil migrants should be deported.

Most respondents think the ship should have been turned back and not allowed to reach Canada.

Many Canadians are paying attention to the developing story related to the arrival of Tamil refugee claimants from Sri Lanka, and a large majority expect more ships carrying migrants to attempt to reach Canadian waters in the next few months, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found. The online survey of a representative sample of 1,019 Canadian adults also finds that a large proportion of respondents believe that the ship should have been turned back and not allowed to reach Canada.

Respondents were asked to choose a specific course of action if the refugee claims from the Tamil migrants are legitimate, and there is no discernible link between them and any terrorist organization.

Almost half of Canadians (48%) would deport the passengers and crew to their country of origin, while one third (35%) would allow them to stay in Canada as refugees.

While British Columbians and Atlantic Canadians are almost evenly divided in their assessment of this case, 53 per cent of Ontarians and Albertans are in favour of deporting the migrants.

Some people have said that this ship was a “test boat” intended to gauge the response of the federal government. Seven-in-ten Canadians (72%) expect more ships carrying migrants to attempt to reach Canadian waters in the next few months.

Some have said that Canada needs to have more compassion and allow these people the opportunity to access our system. What about the concept of following the rules that have been already established? These people are queue jumpers and have arrived here because of the strength of the local Tamil community to understand how "the system" works. Most of the comments here have indicated that Canadians are not happy with this situation. Change is necessary!

Why are the Captain and its crew not in jail and a 'For Sale' sign hanging on the boat?

Canada and its allies knew for months that the ship carrying the migrants was on its way to Canada and no one along the way could or would help the Canadian government at all because quite frankly no country wanted the expense of looking after 492 people.

What I can never understand and don’t like is this coming in the back door and breaking the law while others wait in line for their chance to try and become Canadian citizens.

One thing I cannot understand is where these people got the money. We have heard everything from $30,000 to $50,000 that they paid for the trip Canada?

Have you noticed how the legal community who handle these kinds of cases have flocked to Vancouver to get the clients because of course we pay the bills. They know every angle that works and our immigration is no match for this group who are probably already directing the next boatload on what procedures to follow.

It’s a game we seem to lose every time.