UN concerned about Canada turning away refugees
Thu. Oct. 11 2007 12:58 PM ET
OTTAWA -- The United Nations is raising concerns about Canada turning away refugees at border crossings without so much as an interview.
The UN high commissioner for refugees says that in the latest incident, five people were sent back to the U.S. at the La Colle crossing near Montreal on Thanksgiving Day.
Four of the claimants were from Haiti, and one was from El Salvador.
The high commissioner says the refugees should have been interviewed to see if they qualified for a claim in Canada even though they had already landed in the U.S.
Under the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement, refugees are to make claims in the country where they first arrive.
But the UN agency says the refugees from Haiti should have qualified for an exception because Canada does not allow deportations back to that country, while the U.S. does.