The Dutch cabinet is considering closing the Netherlands’ borders to Eastern Europeans for a period of two years as a majority of members of parliament are concerned that the Netherlands will be overflowed with cheap labor from countries such as Poland, and Latvia, thereby making it harder for unemployed Dutch nationals to find jobs.

The Netherlands is not alone in its decision.  The number of EU member states will expand by 10 next year, and Germany and Austria have already resolved to close their borders for two years to East European workers. Other EU member states are considering following suit.

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Ali Cetin, a Turkish asylum seeker and an Australian citizen, has been identified by a group of Turkish Kurds as the person who helped smuggle them to Melville Island.  Cetin has denied these charges.  Members of the group also identified two other Turks involved in the people-smuggling operations.

Some of the group say they wanted to get to Australia for higher-paying jobs, not to flee Turkish Government persecution, as several had claimed.  Eight of the men now plan to stay in Indonesia, where they hope to get refugee status, while six plan to return home to their jobs and families in Turkey.

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The Canadian Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) has cleared the backlog of applications for its new landed immigration identification card, known as the “Maple Leaf”, by keeping its offices open at night and on weekends.  CIC has reported that the applications are being processed as soon as they arrive.