Editor:

Yet another boatload of Tamils has landed on the shores of the "promised land" and it's déjà vu all over again!

As long as Ottawa's political mindset stubbornly opposes the notion of real reform of the Western world's most generous and porous refugee system, by hiding behind the universality of Canada's sacrosanct Charter of Rights and Freedoms, we will indeed remain "the land of trusting fools," as put so aptly by a Russian security official.

Unique among such charters in Western democracies, by extending full civil rights to any and all non-residents having set foot on sovereign national soil, the Canadian Charter has opened a veritable Pandora's Box of refugee and immigration abuse and resulted in a virtual inability to effectively and expeditiously deal with undesirables freely flocking to our shores and thus serving as the major stumbling block to meaningful reform to make sure our refugee system is reserved for those afflicted by genuine persecution in other nations.

Courtesy of the "Golden Gate" of the Canadian Charter, our deeply flawed refugee system has turned us into a willing doormat for all those bent on taking advantage of our self-imposed "impotence" to protect the integrity of our borders.

As long as the unrestricted universality of Canada's Charter of Rights serves as a shining beacon to all comers, guaranteeing full civil rights to any and all non-residents, people smugglers won't have to worry about losing "clients."

E.W. Bopp