Migrant from 'MV Sun sea' released

8 March 2011 03:37 am Views - 4130

A man who briefly worked for a Tamil Tiger-owned garage in Sri Lanka has been ordered released from a B.C. detention centre after immigration officials found he poses no security threat to Canada.

He is the first of 32 migrants being held on security grounds to be released after arriving on the West Coast on the MV Sun Sea nearly seven months ago.

Lawyer Eric Purtzki says the man, whose identity is under a publication ban, is quite relieved to have the toughest part of the ordeal behind him and plans to move to Toronto where he has friends.

He says the decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board makes it clear that living in a region controlled by the banned group was a fact of life for many people during the Sri Lankan civil war, and often doesn’t constitute membership.

The man must now wait for his refugee claim to be heard, along with most of the 492 other migrants who fled to Canada on the MV Sun Sea.

(The Canadian Press)