Haitians being smuggled into Canada

TORONTO, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Organized smuggling rings have begun sneaking Haitians into Canada, a Haitian-Canadian lawyer in Toronto says.

Immigration lawyer Julian Jubenville told the Toronto Sun since the Jan. 12 earthquake that destroyed much of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, a system has evolved at getting Haitians to the Canadian border to claim refugee status.

For as much as $10,000, Haitians are taken to neighboring Dominican Republic, then to the United States and finally to the border, he said.

"There have been a number of cases," he told the Sun. "It is already starting to happen. People have family here who are willing to pay smugglers to get them out of Haiti."

Since the earthquake, Canada has accepted 217 Haitian orphans and federal immigration spokesman Kelli Fraser said 42 flights have evacuated 4,003 people.

The majority of Haitians in Canada gravitate to Quebec, where French is more widely spoken.