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The Federal government is constitutionally responsible for immigration laws and laws relating to navigation and shipping. As such Federal laws address the issue of illegal immigrants (deserters and stowaways) entering Canada on board vessels. Typically, the Federal government looks to pass on the cost of illegal immigration to others, where possible. To that end the Federal government through past and current immigration legislation has looked to local agents in an attempt to recover removal costs where the shipowner (or the security posted by the shipowner) does not cover those removal expenses.

Not surprisingly the Federal government has worked to tighten the laws. Back in the late 1980’s the law was fairly basic. Part 5 of the then Immigration Act set out the obligations of a “transportation company”. A transportation company was essentially obliged to pay for the removal of a deserter or stowaway. Of course, from a timing point of view, this rarely, if ever, happened before the vessel had left Canadian waters and the deserter or stowaway had exhausted their legal avenues, including a multitude of appeals.