Four seeking asylum, make refugee claims
February 24, 2010
Four people who entered Canada as Olympic spectators have sought to stay in the country as refugees, Canadian immigration officials said yesterday.
Just who the asylum seekers are and where they came from has not yet been made public. But Johanne Nadeau, spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said the four arrived from countries whose citizens do not require a visitor’s visa to enter Canada.
Nadeau also confirmed the claimants are not among the 27,000 foreign nationals — including athletes, team officials, Olympic officials, workers and members of the media — who are in Vancouver under a special streamlined accreditation process designed to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Rather, “they indicated that they originally came to Canada to see the Games and then made a refugee claim,” Nadeau said in an e-mail to the Vancouver Sun.
Nadeau said she couldn’t discuss the origin of the claimants because of privacy laws.
However, Richard Kurland, a Vancouver-based immigration policy analyst, suggested the asylum seekers may have come from Hungary or Slovenia, which are among the top source countries for refugees to Canada recently, in large part due to large populations of Roma people.
The Roma — many of whom have claimed ethnic persecution in their home countries — can be found throughout Europe, but travel to Canada is restricted for most by a visa requirement.
Canada has historically seen an influx in refugee numbers during major international sporting events.
During the Calgary Games in 1988, one person, rumoured to be a Romanian coach, sought asylum.
Six years later, 13 people applied for refugee status during the Victoria Commonwealth Games. Among them was Daniel Igali, the Nigerian-born wrestler who went on to win gold for Canada during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Now a resident of Surrey, Igali was among the celebrated torchbearers for the 2010 Games.
In 1999, six Cubans made asylum claims, including a journalist, during the Pan American Games in Winnipeg.
Nadeau said the four recent claimants will have their cases processed individually. “Each case will be assessed according to its own merits,” she said.
Take our FREE Online Assessment Today!
FREE ASSESSEMENT
Socialize with Abrams & Krochak
Hilarious Figure Skating Pictures from the 2010 Olympics
February 22, 2010
Check out some hilarious photography from the 2010 Olympics Figure Skating competition.
Italian Paolo Bacchini performs a hair raising spin
Take our FREE Online Assessment Today!
FREE ASSESSEMENT
Socialize with Abrams & Krochak
The Canadian Century?
February 18, 2010
In 1904 Canadian Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier made this prediction: “The 19th century was the century of the United States. I think we can claim that it is Canada that shall fill the 20th century.”
Maybe Laurier was just a man 100 years before his time. As the world assembles in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, the 21st century is shaping up great for Canada.
For starters, Canada has avoided many of the problems that currently bedevil the U.S.—mountains of public debt, a banking system in crisis, the housing debacle and a weakened currency.
Canada’s banking system, essentially made up of the Royal Bank of Canada and four other big banks, remained strong during the global credit crisis. With no bailouts, it is the soundest system in the world, marked by a steady and responsible continuation of lending and profits. “Canada has shown itself to be a pretty good manager of the financial system,” U.S. President Barack Obama said amid the financial crisis. Was that a touch of envy in his voice?
And it is not just banks that have remained solvent. Canada, with its relatively small population of 34 million, has the lowest debt burden of any G8 country and less than half the per capita debt burden of the U.S.
Bill Gross, who runs Pimco, one of the world’s biggest bond managers, recently said that he thinks Canada is the best bet for investment among developed nations. “It moved toward and stayed closer to fiscal balance than any other country,” said Gross.
The world is taking note. Canada just hosted the G7 finance meeting way up north in Nunavut and will host both the G8 and G20 conferences later this year. Most important, Canada has welcomed the world to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and is showing off its accomplishments. Laurier would be thrilled. But not surprised.
Take our FREE Online Assessment Today!
FREE ASSESSEMENT
Socialize with Abrams & Krochak
The Canadian Century?
February 18, 2010
In 1904 Canadian Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier made this prediction: “The 19th century was the century of the United States. I think we can claim that it is Canada that shall fill the 20th century.”
Maybe Laurier was just a man 100 years before his time. As the world assembles in Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, the 21st century is shaping up great for Canada.
For starters, Canada has avoided many of the problems that currently bedevil the U.S.—mountains of public debt, a banking system in crisis, the housing debacle and a weakened currency.
Canada’s banking system, essentially made up of the Royal Bank of Canada and four other big banks, remained strong during the global credit crisis. With no bailouts, it is the soundest system in the world, marked by a steady and responsible continuation of lending and profits. “Canada has shown itself to be a pretty good manager of the financial system,” U.S. President Barack Obama said amid the financial crisis. Was that a touch of envy in his voice?
And it is not just banks that have remained solvent. Canada, with its relatively small population of 34 million, has the lowest debt burden of any G8 country and less than half the per capita debt burden of the U.S.
Bill Gross, who runs Pimco, one of the world’s biggest bond managers, recently said that he thinks Canada is the best bet for investment among developed nations. “It moved toward and stayed closer to fiscal balance than any other country,” said Gross.
The world is taking note. Canada just hosted the G7 finance meeting way up north in Nunavut and will host both the G8 and G20 conferences later this year. Most important, Canada has welcomed the world to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and is showing off its accomplishments. Laurier would be thrilled. But not surprised.
Take our FREE Online Assessment Today!
FREE ASSESSEMENT
Socialize with Abrams & Krochak
