Etiquette, etc.

TORONTO • The refugee claims from the nearly 600 Sri Lankans who paid smugglers to ferry them to Canada are moving slowly and face dwindling odds of success, new statistics show.

More than two years after the Ocean Lady arrived off Vancouver Island carrying 76 Sri Lankan asylum seekers, only one has been accepted as a refugee so far, according to newly released Immigration and Refugee Board figures. Another has been ordered deported and the remaining claims are pending.

Of the 492 Sri Lankans who arrived in 2010 aboard the MV Sun Sea, only three have been recognized as refugees while 13 claims have been withdrawn and five abandoned. The remainder of the cases are scheduled to be dealt with over the next few months.