Toronto:
Tamil migrants who arrived on the British Columbian shore from Sri Lanka may have a better chance of staying in Canada after the federal government lost a refugee hearing.
Refugee board member Marc Tessler ruled last week that mere association with banned terrorist group LTTE, is not enough to prove membership in that group -- a conclusion that may make it more difficult for the federal government to send the migrants back.
"Having a definition of membership that would encompass such low-range activities was too broad to encompass membership in a terrorist group," said lawyer Eric Purtzki, who represented one of the migrants at the hearing.
The federal government has filed arguments before the board that some 30 Tamil migrants should be ordered to leave Canada based on the fact that they are members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or Tamil Tigers.
In some of those cases, the government alleged that it has direct evidence that some Tamils are part of the formal structure of the group, or was complicit in organizing the smuggling.
But in others, the argument hinges on whether some association with the Tigers could constitute membership.
The ruling was on the case of B173, an ethnic Tamil who cannot be identified because of a publication ban.
He was accused of being a member of the LTTE as he repaired buses in a public transport company controlled by the LTTE, and in a second job repaired two vehicles belonging to the outfit.
492 ethnic Tamils arrived on the M V Sun Sea in August last year after the LTTE lost the civil war in Sri Lanka.