Human Smuggling

SPECIAL REPORT: An investigation of Canada's refugee policy

Katie DeRosa / Times Colonist

The Times Colonist’s Katie DeRosa travelled throughout Australia and Thailand to learn more about Australia’s mandatory-detention policy and talk to refugees, in an effort ...

Part 1: Woman who risked everything to escape, now faces Canadian bureaucracy

Nirangela and her husband knew when they boarded the MV Sun Sea, along with 490 other men, women and children, they were in for a long and dangerous journey to Canada. ...

Part 2: Refugees held at Christmas Island detention centre describe 'a very bad ...

Christmas Island is a tiny speck on a map of the Indian Ocean. It’s a remote Australian territory, just 360 kilometres south of Jakarta and 2,600 kilometres northwest of ...

Part 3: Mandatory detention centres greet those seeking asylum in Australia

The Yongah Hill Detention Centre sits amid the farmland and bush of the Avon Valley, about 80 kilometres east of Perth in Western Australia. Inside the electric fence of ...

Part 4: A man who spent 26 months in detention found solace in art program

Murtaza Ali Jafari sits on a deck in a large backyard in the picturesque Blue Mountains outside Sydney, adding light strokes of black felt pen to the image of a waxy candle...

Part 5: Australian government holds families in suburb they can't leave

On a rainy day in the rolling Adelaide Hills in South Australia, children step off a school bus that has just driven into a gated community. Parents greet the kids with ...

Part 6: Wave of refugees revitalizes struggling Australian city of Dandenong

Twenty years ago, Dandenong was struggling to survive. The landlocked city 30 kilometres southeast of Melbourne was dilapidated. Storefronts were vacant. It was almost ...

Part 7: Sri Lankan refugee is free on Bangkok streets of fear, waiting for five ...

Chandru is in limbo. The 25-year-old Sri Lankan refugee has been waiting in Thailand for five years to be resettled in a safe country. He spent four years of that time ...

Background: Canada is taking a harder line on refugees

While Australia and Canada share many similarities, geography sets them apart when it comes to attracting migrant ships. Canada was faced with two boat arrivals in two ...

Videos: Human smuggling special report

VTC Human Smuggling - Yongah Hill

VTC Human Smuggling - Christmas Island

VTC Human Smuggling - Refugee Art Project

VTC Human Smuggling - Aussie suburb you can't leave

VTC Human Smuggling - Dandenong

VTC Human Smuggling - Bangkok Refugees

See More B.C. News

British Columbia appoints former Calgary police deputy chief as sergeant-at-arms

Company set to build wastewater treatment plant decries contract cancellation

City of Vernon transfers copyright to legendary Ogopogo to B.C. Indigenous nations

B.C. reports 667 cases of COVID-19, 13 deaths in wake of northern B.C. restrictions

See More Business

Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week

Kevin Greenard: Pushing proprietary products

Two Quebec companies unveil all-electric ambulance with eye to global market

Disney delays 'Indiana Jones 5,’ ‘Black Panther 2’ releases

See More Sports

Panarin scores OT winner as Toronto Maple Leafs fall 2-1 to New York Rangers

Alberta's Tanner (The Bulldozer) Boser to fight on December UFC card

NHL suspends Evander Kane 21 games for COVID violations

Lowry's return highlights Raptors games to watch this season

See More Entertainment

Critic's picks: Michael Kaeshammer, Holding Ground, Until the Flood

Rapper formerly known as Kanye West is now just Ye

Review: Elton John taps some talented friends for new album

LA County wants Vanessa Bryant to undergo psychiatric exam

See More Life

House Beautiful: Couple settles on Shawnigan Lake dream home

Condo Smarts: Is Airbnb rental covered under a 50-year bylaw exemption?

Health Canada recalls pot sold at B.C. government cannabis stores

Meteorite found in B.C. could shed light on solar system's origin says physicist

See More Opinion

Trevor Hancock: B.C. fails to take adequate action on climate crisis

Monique Keiran: COVID may not be the only pandemic in this lifetime

Lawrie McFarlane: COVID limitations are hurting our social lives

Charla Huber: Asking for pronouns can cause anxiety

See More Letters

Letters Oct. 16: Does North Saanich need to be 'complete'?; vaccine mandates have saved us all

Letters Oct. 15: Keeping North Saanich free of urban sprawl; the ethics of COVID-19

Letters Oct. 14: B.C.'s passive pandemic plan; vaccine mandates unfair to faithful staff

Letters Oct. 13: Calm the vitriol over vaccinations; Bravo Zulu to Saanich workers