Illegal Thai Workers Arrested In Canada

[geriatrickid]

In case you missed it, in April, the Canadian Border Services Agency detained 40 illegal workers from Thailand. It was part of a series of 3 raids in the Ontario farmbelt. Interesting because of 2 aspects;

1. It was unprecedented in Canada.

2. The arguments adopted by the illegal worker defenders were extremely critical of Thailand.

First some back up info;From the CBSA site under prosecutions; http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/media/prosecuti...-04-02-eng.html A snip from a lowkey news release;

Bradford West Gwillimbury , Ontario, April 2, 2009 – The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the South Simcoe Police Service announced today the arrest of over 70 individuals, who are alleged to be in violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), following a search on a number of residences and three businesses in the town of Bradford West Gwillimbury. A criminal warrant was also executed by the CBSA's Criminal Investigations Division. A three-month investigation was conducted by the CBSA with the assistance of the South Simcoe Police Service into allegations of IRPA violations

Then one of the newspaper articles; (Love the headline) Thai farm workers to be deported Advocates say chicken catchers in danger

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/04...106176-sun.html By Tom Godfrey, SUN MEDIA The Toronto Sun

TORONTO -- Advocates for 40 Thai farm workers are calling on Canadian authorities to put the deportation of the Southeast Asian labourers on hold because of the latest spate of violence in their homeland. The chicken catchers, who earned $8.50 an hour (about 250 baht an hour and at the time, within the minimum at the time - it was increased to $9.50 on March 31. It was later reported that in addition to the wage, living quarters and food were provided and that there were bonuses.) to round up poultry for slaughter, are being held at a Rexdale detention centre and are slated for deportation.....

And now for the negativity for the sake of negativity "There are fears these people might be killed or injured if they're sent back," said immigration consultant MacDonald Scott, who represents some of the workers. "The situation at the moment is chaotic in Thailand." Yea right. ( Stated elsewhere in the article: Most of the workers arrived in Canada about two years ago as temporary workers and didn't renew their visas.) Chris Ramsaroop, of Justice for Immigrant Workers, said those arrested are performing jobs Canadians don't want. "It's unsure what will happen to this group if they are deported to Thailand," Ramsaroop said yesterday.

There are more really nasty distorted statements about evil Thailand made by the activists. They are found on the websites of the organizations with a vested interest in the illegal immigrant "industry". Reading some of the views, I really had to wonder where these people got their views. Bias for the sake of bias. And then I thought, hmm, maybe they were Thai Visa readers. Dunno, but the comments in some cases were condescending, unfair, and given to hyperbole.

And then there was the one coherent statement in the same Sun article;

Suchart Yodkerepauprai, president of the Thai Society of Ontario, said the arrested workers are an isolated group who are accused of breaking Canadian laws. "These people are a small group and they knew what they were doing," Yodkerepauprai said yesterday. "They won't be punished if they were sent back home

So why's the article relevant? On the surface there is the issue of 40 Thais arested. However, it illustrates that the lack of understanding goes both ways: Sure the Thais can exploit the presence of foreigners for political means, but it cuts both ways. In the Canadian case, we see social activists not understanding Thailand and exploiting a situation for their own benefit. People are the same the world over it seems.

[7baht]

What !!!! no mexicans ...... let the thais go.

[toybits]

Just goes to show that everyone is someone else's bea tch.

[Carmine6]

$9.50/hour plus room and board, and bonuses to catch chickens? If that's free of Canadian taxes, sign me up.

[ilovefashionTV]

What a bunch of fluffy pathetic liberals Canada has, these people are illegal immigrants who are breaking the law ... Deport them!

Canadian people would do this job if they were paid a fair wage, its the usual lie from the globalists.

[bkkjames]

What a bunch of fluffy pathetic liberals Canada has, these people are illegal immigrants who are breaking the law ... Deport them!

Canadian people would do this job if they were paid a fair wage, its the usual lie from the globalists.

Wasn't that part of John MCCains election platform?

[geriatrickid]

What a bunch of fluffy pathetic liberals Canada has, these people are illegal immigrants who are breaking the law ... Deport them!

Canadian people would do this job if they were paid a fair wage, its the usual lie from the globalists.

what;s fair for unskilled labour? If the processing cost goes too high then the poor cannot afford to eat. It seems to me a pretty decent wage when room and board is included.

[ilovefashionTV]

What a bunch of fluffy pathetic liberals Canada has, these people are illegal immigrants who are breaking the law ... Deport them!

Canadian people would do this job if they were paid a fair wage, its the usual lie from the globalists.

what;s fair for unskilled labour? If the processing cost goes too high then the poor cannot afford to eat. It seems to me a pretty decent wage when room and board is included.

Im sure you'd love to live and work in Victorian workhouse conditions for minimum wage.

You trying to tell me that if the wage was to rise to whatever price Canadian Citizens are willing to work for that people in Canada wouldnt be able to afford to eat? As when i was in Canada the people looked over fed to me!

How about a wage that Canadian citizens are willing to work for so the can afford a respectable standard of living ie be able to afford buy a place to live and not live 6 to a room ... this type of immigration just lowers the standard of living for the poorer Canadians.

How about having uncontrolled immigration in Canada if this kind of immigration is such a good thing?

[Scott]

Canadians are so dumb. Just wait until it's dark and pick the chickens up--no chasing or catching involved.....Or maybe it was the Thais who couldn't figure this out!

I guess this is the downsize to 'free range chickens'. Do they ride ostriches while herding them into corrals?

[TheLaughingMan]

Even though I am a critic of many things Thai, I must say nothing bothers me more than people saying bad things about Thailand that are not even remotely based in truth. Worried that if they are sent back they will be killed? A statement like that is so far into the realm of fantasy it makes me wonder if they accidentally thought they were talking about some other country that is in the middle of a war with citizens dying by the hundreds every day.

Or perhaps they know how dangerous the roads are here and thought the chances of these people being sent back to Thailand and getting into a road accident were very high?!

[jackdanielsesq]

Love the byline - chicken catchers!!

Wait until the first wetback immigration consultant - closed U-Haul van driver - gets hold of a homeboy ambulance chaser and they file a wrongful discrimination employment lawsuit against the Canuks for illegally employing the said Thai poultry purveyors, plus the Kingdom of Thailand for allowing illegal export of said poultry purveyors without necessary United Nations sanctions 101 filings in NY, for race discrimination based on Mexico's lettuce pickers ratification under US DA section 007, as amended in 1898, revised last week, in that only homies with real bad attitudes, a genuine pink slip or title to a 67 Chevvie low rider, packing a Ruger 357 snub, 6 empty Carling long toms, plus at least 4 used Huggie diapers in said trunk may be employed at rip-off rates by any US or Canada douches.

Entirely without prejudice

BR>Jack

[IanForbes]

As a Canadian I understand how our system works. Our legal authorities only want gun runners, drug pushers and suppliers. That keeps the police, lawyers and judges busy thinking they are doing something useful. The authorities don't want hard working Thai immigrants working for minimum wages. That might show up our welfare system of Canadians who don't want to work. Politicians don't really want to do anything that might keep themselves from being re-elected and therefore do nothing that might actually help people. And, the Canadian customs authorities have a perverted idea on what actually goes on in Thailand and other foreign countries. They get their orders from the Americans on how we should run our system in Canada. Quite simple really.

[ilovefashionTV]

They get their orders from the Americans on how we should run our system in Canada. Quite simple really.

Spoken like a true Canadian if something is wrong blame the Americans.

[IanForbes]

They get their orders from the Americans on how we should run our system in Canada. Quite simple really.

Spoken like a true Canadian if something is wrong blame the Americans.

Don't be so paranoid, nobody is blaming the Americans. The USA has its own problems with the Mexicans. I'm just saying our present Canadian government won't do squat without first checking with the American govenment. We could knock out the drug trade within a year by legalizing it, but there are too many fanatical religious groups with their heads burried so far up their azz they can see reality.

No different than prohibition in the USA in the 1930s. Canada didn't have prohibition and didn't have a problem. In fact a good portion of the wealthy Canadian families today made their money running booze into the states. Now they are all the hoity-toity upper crust snobs.

Canada has a history of allowing the wrong groups of people into our great country. Many ethnic groups have no intention of ever mixing or integrating into our society, but most do. The Thais quickly assimilate into our society if they can adapt to the change.