More Equal Than Others: The Discursive Construction of Migrant Children and Families in Canada

As borders become increasingly porous to the flow of global capital, human beings entering countries like Canada are routinely criminalized. On August 13, 2010, the Canadian Navy escorted the MV Sun Sea, a ship carrying 492 men, women, and children from Sri Lanka, to a Canadian Forces Base on Vancouver Island. Many months later, people remained imprisoned. The racialization, criminalization, and detention of migrant children and families in Canada poses a direct challenge to the notion of Canadian multiculturalism, as well as purported commitments to the rights of children. This paper seeks to critically engage with dominant narratives surrounding the arrival and treatment of the 492 men, women, and children aboard the MV Sun Sea in order to unmask and explore the multitude of discourses required to normalize the criminalization of people’s bodies.