Canada concerned over cargo ship of refugees

A SMALL cargo ship crammed with hundreds of Tamil asylum seekers from Sri Lanka docked at a Canadian navy base yesterday after a gruelling three-month journey.

Canadian public safety minister Vic Toews said 490 people are onboard and that the 194-foot vessel MV Sun Sea had declared them to be refugees. However, Mr Toews said the government had concerns that there may be members of the Tamil Tigers on board.

The boat reportedly approached Australia a few months ago but was either turned away or feared it would not be allowed to dock and subsequently sailed on to Canada.

Canada is home to about 300,000 Tamils, the largest such population outside Sri Lanka and India.

The Canadian government has previopusly raised concerns that it is becoming a target of human smugglers.