No Entry Rights

No entry rights

Letter

THE PROVINCE
Published: Sunday, May 18, 2008

The people on board the Komagata Maru had no more right to demand entry to Canada 94 years ago than I would today if I landed on a country's shore, demanding it change its immigration policy to suit me.

Canada, like India, may have been part of the British Empire at the time, but we had our own government.

It is regrettable how those on board the ship were treated in regards to the amount of food and water.

But no country, now or then, owes any foreign national the right of entry.

Today, most countries with non-European populations have strict immigration and citizenship laws, and no one criticizes them.

Taylor Bidwell, Vancouver