Tamil migrant released in B.C. hearing

An Immigration and Refugee Board hearing in Vancouver has ordered the release of the first refugee applicant among the Tamil migrants who arrived in Canada by boat last month.

The woman, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban, will be released with conditions, said adjudicator Michael McPhalen on Monday.

She will have to report her address to the Canada Border Services Agency and give 48 hours notice if she is changing her address, unless she is hospitalized.

The woman was accompanied by three children, is pregnant and suffers from complications to injuries sustained before she left Sri Lanka, the board was told.

McPhalen said the CBSA hasn't done enough to prioritize the woman's case.

The CBSA has opposed her release, because some of her identification documents look like they might have been altered.

The woman and her children are among 492 Tamil migrants who arrived aboard the MV Sun Sea in Esquimalt, B.C., on Aug. 13.

Most of the migrants have been held in detention facilities in the Vancouver area since their arrival. Some children are not in detention but have been placed in care by the provinical government.