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The interception of an unflagged ship bearing the name Ocean Lady off Canada's Pacific coast has reignited the debate on illegal migration and the refugee-determination process. However, with attention focused on the fate of the vessel's 76 passengers, the masterminds behind this brazen scheme have largely been ignored.

The unfolding story strongly suggests that this incident is part of a sophisticated international migrant-smuggling network – Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney have both publicly recognized this as a scenario.

It is a serious wake-up call for Canadians.

Migrant smuggling involves facilitating the illegal entry of a person for profit. It is a high-stakes criminal enterprise. Those aboard the Ocean Lady may each have paid up to $45,000 (U.S.) for passage to Canada – triple the amount reportedly paid to reach Australia. If such reports are accurate, the ship's human cargo would have been worth $3.42-million for a single voyage.

One provider of shipping data has records for six ships named Ocean Lady. Photographs released by the RCMP of the mysterious vessel bear a striking resemblance to a British tanker called the Ocean Lady that is safely moored outside Edinburgh, according to online vessel tracking information. Both vessels have a similar silhouette, white bridge and black hull, painted red near the waterline.

However, the ship entering Canadian waters last week was a pretender whose name was reportedly crudely written with electrical tape. Its name and designation are invalid, but, to a passerby, the ship would have passed at least a first look. The decision to name her Ocean Lady was a clever ruse.

The RCMP's criminal intelligence directorate reported in 2006 that 12 per cent of “improperly documented migrants” caught entering Canada were aided by smugglers – almost 15,000 individuals in a five-year period (1997-2002). Smuggling fees to reach Canada were estimated to run as high as $20,000 to $60,000 (U.S.) a person.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime rightly calls migrant smuggling a “deadly business.” Transnational criminals prey on hope and charge exorbitant fees in exchange for hazardous voyages that can take months or years. Some end fatally.

Migrant smuggling is different from human trafficking. While migrant smugglers earn profits from one-time fees, human traffickers earn ongoing profits from forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation of their victims. Human trafficking also does not require movement across an international border – the victims can be Canadian.

In some instances, however, migrants may begin their journey as willing participants in being smuggled, and then, after they arrive, the smugglers, using force, fraud or coercion, impose inflated debts that must be “repaid” in sweatshops and brothels, according to a joint Canada-U.S. Bi-National Assessment on Trafficking in Persons. As a result, further investigations may be needed into how significant smuggling fees are expected to be repaid.

Perpetrators of migrant smuggling must be held to account. Alarmingly, the RCMP's 2006 report raised concerns about the “relatively low risk of detection, arrest and prosecution, and weak sentences if convicted” for migrant smugglers.

Canadian authorities must vigorously pursue investigations into the individuals behind migrant-smuggling operations – not merely those manning vessels, but also the contractors, owners and collaborators in other countries. Proceeds of the crime should be forfeited along with vessels knowingly used to facilitate migrant smuggling, making it riskier to select Canada as a destination.

Take the case of Belgium and Britain, where ongoing co-operation between the two countries, together with significant fines levied against shipping companies used to transport illegal migrants, has shown some success in addressing the problem of illegal migration in the shipping lane to Zeebrugge, a traditional gateway from continental Europe to Britain.

Canada should do the same in co-operation with affected countries.

At the same time, the country should continue to welcome legitimate refugees who are fleeing persecution, such as the 810 Burmese Karen refugees that the government worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to resettle in 2006.

Millions of men, women and children are waiting in similar situations. The “group-processing” approach should be a preferred avenue to help those in greatest need worldwide, and to ensure that only legitimate refugees who have been precleared are admitted to Canada. It is a safer, legal and more effective approach to address the global refugee problem.

It is possible to be tough on migrant smugglers, while retaining Canada's reputation for humanitarian compassion.

Benjamin Perrin is a law professor at the University of British Columbia and faculty fellow at the Liu Institute for Global Issues. He was senior policy adviser to former immigration minister Monte Solberg.