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A Thai ship carrying hundreds of Sri Lankan Tamils arrived at the Esquimalt naval base in British Columbia on Friday. The MV Sun Sea had been intercepted off the Canadian coast on Thursday. According to Canada’s public safety minister there were 490 people aboard the ship, possibly including members of the banned Tamil Tiger rebels. The CBC’s Curt Petrovich has been following the story unfolding in Western Canada. Download MP3

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JEB SHARP: I’m Jeb Sharp and this is The World. A ship carrying hundreds of refugees from Sri Lanka reached Canada’s western shores today. The vessel was allowed to dock at a Canadian naval base in British Columbia. US and Canadian authorities have been following the ship’s approach for days. They’re concerned that members of the Tamil Tigers may be onboard. Both the United States and Canada consider the Tamil Tiger militant group to be a terrorist organization. The group waged war for decades against Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese-dominated government. But the Tigers were crushed last year in a bloody offensive that left thousands dead. The CBC’s Curt Petrovich is following the story now unfolding in Western Canada. Earlier today he was aboard a boat next to the migrant’s vessel, the Sun Sea.

CURT PETROVICH:  It’s rusty. It looks impossibly small to hold what we are told is nearly 500 people who’ve been on that vessel for perhaps four months. It wasn’t nearly allowed to dock here. It was escorted here by the Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and since it’s been docked, tied up to a refueling jetty, there’s been a bustle of activity on the deck. And what we’ve seen are Canada Border Service Agents and RCMP, many wearing surgical masks, some wearing gloves, coming and going. We saw a crew of armed police officers leaving shortly after the vessel docked. They were carrying what looked like assault rifles. We’ve also seen people coming off the boat carrying what looked like water and food containers.

SHARP:  And what happens next to those people? What is at least the official plan?

PETROVICH: First of all, those who require any kind of medical attention will be taken to a hospital. But all of them will be detained in a series of jail cells that have been set up. They can expect to be detained for some months as they undergo the hearings and evaluation to determine whether or not they have a legitimate claim to refugee status. And then the hearings themselves to determine whether or not those claims of persecution are valid could take years.

SHARP: And what is Canada’s policy regarding the Tamil Tigers?

PETROVICH: Well, the policy is that it is a banned terrorist organization. But Canada’s in this position where it is getting intelligence and encouragement from the government of Sri Lanka and other security experts who say, well there are those onboard this vessel who are not only members of the Tamil Tigers, but this is a human smuggling operation. So right off the bat, it’s a criminal operation. But the Federal Public Safety Minister in Canada is in a tight spot. He’s telling the world essentially that he wants to send a message through this incident that Canada will respond harshly to those involved in criminal activity such as human smuggling. But he also has a boatload of people who, while they may have participated in a criminal operation by paying tens of thousands of dollars each for passage to Canada, they are still potentially people who deserve refugee protection.

SHARP: And it’s interesting. In fact, Australia had turned this ship away and it ended up on Canadian soil or waters. There are reports there are more ships on the way. Do you think the Canadian government might refuse entry?

PETROVICH: We’ve heard our Public Safety Minister say that for legal reasons the best way to deal with vessels that are destined for Canada of this sort is to allow them to enter Canada’s territorial waters because that makes it legally easier to deal with it. But we’ve also heard them talk very loudly and acknowledge that, in fact, there are other human smugglers who are watching how this particular incident unfolds because if it is a success or deemed to be profitable, then there is the risk that Canada will be the destination for yet another ship.

SHARP: Well, and I think it’s not just the smugglers watching. In some sense everybody’s watching to see what happens and presumably that puts a lot of pressure on Canada no matter which way it goes. How do you see the implications?

PETROVICH: It does perhaps represent the beginning of a very dangerous trend if what ends up happening is ships that have been turned away from countries like Australia decide to set Canada as a destination. I think the government is mindful of that. But at the same time there is a great deal of pressure particularly from groups, in this case, like the Canadian Tamil Council who are urging calm and respect and no one to jump the gun and to say, look, these people endured a journey of some three or four months under what can only be hellish conditions. They must be running from something.

SHARP:  The CBC’s Curt Petrovich. Thanks, Curt.

PETROVICH: You’re welcome.

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