4 more Tamil migrants to be freed

A Federal Court judge has dismissed Ottawa's attempt to keep four Tamil migrants in detention in the Vancouver area.

The women were ordered released by the Immigration and Refugee Board earlier this week after the board ruled the federal government wasn't moving quickly enough to confirm the women's identities.

The government asked the Federal Court to overturn those decisions, but Judge Yves de Montigny ruled Friday the women can't be kept locked up indefinitely without sufficient evidence.

"Deprivation of liberty ranks no doubt as one of the harshest measures that may be visited upon an individual in a democratic state," the judge said.

"If stays were to be granted repetitively on the basis of a low threshold for establishing a serious issue, the respondent could be deprived almost indefinitely of the benefit of a release order."

A lawyer for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration had argued each woman's identity had not been definitively established, justifying continued detention.

De Montigny said while identity is the lynchpin of Canada's immigration system, the women can't be jailed any longer without any proof they're security or flight risks.

All seek refugee status

The women arrived aboard the MV Sun Sea, which docked in B.C. Aug. 13 carrying 492 Tamils.

Each of the women travelled with family members who are still being detained, and de Montigny repeated the refugee board's point that it's in the women's best interests to comply with Canadian immigration law.

All four have filed refugee claims.

De Montigny said the arrival of 492 migrants has definitely stretched the resources of the Immigration Ministry and Canada Border Services Agency, but when the freedom of individuals is at stake, "administrative constraints cannot be a determinative factor."

A decision on exactly when the women will be released will be made by the Canada Border Services Agency.

Nine MV Sun Sea migrants have been ordered released by the refugee board so far.

Last year, when 76 Tamils arrived aboard the MV Ocean Lady, the federal government launched similar challenges when the refugee board ordered them released.