[simonsays]

I personally don't really know how to feel about this whole situation. I have a co-worker who has spent the last 3 years and near $20K in legal and processing fees to become a permanent resident here. I know that refugee claims and immigration claims are different, but it doesn't seem right to watch someone arduously go through the process and then watch 490 people jump their queue.

But they are people, and as such we should at least provide a level of care for them, medicine, food, diesel etc. But I am very undecided about allowing them into the country. At the least, human smugglers the world over are watching this specific case with great interest.

I don't know if there is still a national guilty conscious about the Komagata Maru or the SS St. Louis that factors into this. But as a wealthy nation with liberal attitudes towards human rights, we need a strong stance towards refugee claims like this. I'm not opposed to using these 490 (excluding children) in infrastructure projects for their first year of processing. I'm also not opposed to giving them aid and sending them to their next destination. But I am opposed to opening the flood gates. Because if they are given clear cut refugee status then this is only the first of many ships aiming at our shores.