Topic: Liberal Party of Canada Leadership

[Brad Sallows]

I haven't bought that "US Democrats are Canadian Conservatives" myth since Democrats started regaining power in 2006.

Obama and Harper were not in the same building, let alone on the same page.

[Thucydides]

Dems are now so far left they hardly resemble the Clinton era Administration (Hillary is often running against the very policies that Bill put in place). JFK is probably closer to Ronald Reagan than Obama, and certainly the idea the Bernie Sanders is an even semi serious candidate for the Democrat presidential nomination would have been totally alien even 10 years ago...

[George Wallace]

It should be interesting to see how this Cabinet Minister's case develops:


Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

A file’s been opened on Monsef, sources say
Candice Malcolm
Yesterday at 6:27 PM

A government file has been opened to investigate Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef for possible citizenship fraud, the Sun has learned. An investigation of this type could lead to a number of outcomes, including possible citizenship revocation.

The Sun has confirmed with multiple sources that complaints have been made to the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), as well as to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), a division of the Department of Public Safety.

CBSA is responsible for enforcing the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. CBSA officials report to the Minister of Public Safety, Liberal MP Ralph Goodale, while IRCC officials report to the Minister of Immigration, Liberal MP John McCallum.

In 2011, in the aftermath of RCMP investigations discovering wide-spread citizenship fraud, the government established a tip line.

Much like Crime Stoppers, the line allows private citizens to anonymously contact the government and relay information relating to citizenship cases involving false representation, fraud or knowingly concealing material.

Three separate sources have told the Sun that the government has received such tips relating to the case of Maryam Monsef, leading to the opening of a file investigating possible citizenship fraud.

One source was told by a government official with direct knowledge of the case that “at least six different people had called with complaints on Ms. Monsef.”

When asked if IRCC was investigating Monsef, the government would not comment.

“IRCC does not confirm or deny the receipt of tips or investigations,” said an IRCC spokesperson.

The spokesperson did however provide broad information about this type of investigation.

“Generally, when Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada becomes aware of issues around the facts provided in an application, it will determine if further action is required.”

“Decisions to pursue further action are made on a case by case basis. IRCC prioritizes the most serious cases such as those involving serious criminality or organized fraud.”

It is unknown if the department has determined how to prioritize the complaints against Monsef.

Monsef and her family arrived in Canada in 1996 and claimed asylum. They were granted refugee status and eventually become citizens.

Following an investigation by the Globe and Mail, it was discovered that Monsef was born in Iran, not Afghanistan as she claimed to have believed.

Monsef’s office confirmed that she listed false information in her passport, which presumably matched the records of her official citizenship application.

“Until recent days, Maryam Monsef believed that she was born in Afghanistan,” wrote Monsef’s press secretary in a statement exclusive to the Sun. “As a result, when she applied for a Canadian passport, she listed Herat, Afghanistan as her place of birth. Now that she has learned that this is incorrect, she is taking steps to see how she can rectify this unintentional error.”

Providing false representation to Canadian immigration officials is a form of citizenship fraud, even if the error was unintentional.

Monsef’s case may mirror that of a 19-year-old Concordia University student who was recently stripped of her Canadian citizenship because her mother allegedly lied on her citizenship application.

Citizenship fraud investigations can take years to complete and involve cooperation between the RCMP, CBSA and various officials within IRCC.

Because both CBSA and IRCC officials report to partisan Liberal ministers and political staff appointed by Justin Trudeau, this case may give rise to a conflict of interest.

Can these Liberal ministers be counted on to remain neutral and unbiased as officials within their departments investigate a caucus colleague? Can the non-partisan civil servants independently assess Monsef without any interference or intimidation from their political bosses?

How can the public trust this investigation will be truly independent?

________________

Maryam Monsef Timeline:

November 7, 1984 – Maryam Monsef was born in the Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. She claims that as an Afghan refugee she has no legal status in Iran.
November 7, 1985 – Date Monsef originally claimed she was born in Herat, Afghanistan 1996 – The Monsef family flee Afghanistan, travel back to Mashhad, Iran, then on to Pakistan and Jordan before landing in Montreal and asking for asylum in Canada.
June 4, 2010 – One day after graduating from Trent, University, Monsef travelled to Iran and Afghanistan.
December 2013 – early 2014 – Monsef returns to Iran once again, on a religious pilgrimage visa. Canadian passport holders can no longer travel to Iran without a special permit, so Monsef uses her Afghan passport instead.
October 2015 – Maryam Monsef is elected as the Liberal MP from Peterborough—Kawartha in Ontario.
November 2015 – Monsef is appointed into Justin Trudeau cabinet. She is heralded as the first Afghan-born cabinet minister.
January 2016 – Monsef is praised by U.S. President Barack Obama as the ultimate refugee success story.
September 2016 – A Globe and Mail investigation reveals that Monsef was born in Iran and not Afghanistan. Monsef claims her mother misled her, and that she was taking steps to rectify the error.
September 2016 – BC Civil Liberties Association file a law suit against the Trudeau Liberals for revoking citizenship without a hearing. Activists claim Monsef could have her citizenship revoked under the current law.
October 2016 – A CBC investigation finds that the Trudeau Liberals have revoked citizenship at a much higher rate than the Harper Conservatives.
October 2016 – The Sun learns that a file has been opened inside the Government of Canada to investigate Monsef for citizenship fraud.

More on LINK.

[jollyjacktar]

That would be delicious if it went pear shaped.

[milnews.ca]

This should be looked into, big time, with said Minister off the bench for optics' sake alone.

And since it appears that "the Minister" takes away citizenship if found to be obtained fraudulently, the only way I can see getting around any potential or perceived conflict of interest is to ensure that the person being investigated is NOT a Minister while being investigated - or at least when the decision is rendered.

[George Wallace]

This should be looked into, big time, with said Minister off the bench for optics' sake alone.

And since it appears that "the Minister" takes away citizenship if found to be obtained fraudulently, the only way I can see getting around any potential or perceived conflict of interest is to ensure that the person being investigated is NOT a Minister while being investigated - or at least when the decision is rendered.

But that would upset his "status quo" and filling "quotas"......

[milnews.ca]

But that would upset his "status quo" and filling "quotas"......

Maybe, but even as someone willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, he can ALWAYS pick another woman for The Cabinet Bench if he's that worried about quotas.

We'll see if he has that (some gadflies might say almost-Harper-esque?) quality of never being able to admit he's wrong 

[George Wallace]

Hmmmmm?

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Liberals in denial about Monsef story
BY CANDICE MALCOLM
FIRST POSTED: MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2016 06:36 PM EDT | UPDATED: MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2016 07:59 PM EDT

A file within the federal government has been opened to investigate Democratic Institutions Minister Maryam Monsef for citizenship fraud. And the Liberal government seems to be in denial about it.

The Sun exclusively reported that a file was opened to investigate Monsef, who claims she only recently learned she was born in Iran, not Afghanistan. A number of complaints were received through a tip line created by Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) and the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), leading to an investigation. It remains unknown whether Monsef’s proper birthplace information was included on her original refugee and citizenship application.

While the Immigration department refused to comment on the investigation, claiming privacy laws prevented them from discussing details, Monsef’s office issued a statement.

“Minister Monsef is not aware of any actions by IRCC,” wrote Monsef’s Director of Communications, John O’Leary, in an exclusive email sent to the Sun.

“It’s standard practice for IRCC to contact an applicant when they are reviewing a file,” wrote O’Leary. “That has not happened.”

When asked to verify how and why it is “standard practice” to inform someone of an investigation into their file, O’Leary simply repeated his line. “It’s standard practice.”

Informing a person of an investigation, however, is not the standard practice.

Like most areas of law, a person under investigation for citizenship fraud is only informed of an investigation once the investigation requires the person’s input.

“That defies common sense,” said Toronto-based immigration lawyer Guidy Mamann, when asked if it was standard practice to inform someone of a review.

“If someone is investigating you, are they going to call you and say ‘hi, we’re investigating you’? No.”

“There is a point during an investigation – sometimes during the beginning stages, sometimes in the end, and sometimes not at all – when a person will be informed,” said Mamann.

“But to say ‘there is no investigation because no one has told me about an investigation’ is absolutely ridiculous.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Mamann. “If the police suspect that you killed someone, do they go up to you and say ‘we think you’ve killed someone so we’re now watching you’?”

“That doesn’t happen in the real world.”

A former citizenship judge with knowledge of citizenship fraud investigations agreed, saying point blank that the statement from Monsef’s office is “not accurate.”

“Anybody can be investigated,” said the former citizenship judge who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to publicly discuss specific cases. “And of course the department can investigate someone without informing them.”

“If an investigation is taken to the next level, then yes, they contact the person. But not initially.”

It is unclear whether Monsef’s office was intentionally trying to confuse the issue, or if they were given false information from another department.

Either way, it raises questions about the integrity and independence of this investigation.

“The whole world knows that this issue [about Monsef’s inaccurate birthplace information] has arisen,” said Mamann. “And the CBSA is under a statutory obligation to investigate any breaches of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.”

“They don’t have to tell anyone whether they are conducting an investigation. Especially not the subject of the investigation.”

Despite CBSA’s obligations, there are conflict of interest concerns about the Liberal government investigating the possible citizenship fraud of a Liberal insider.

“Whatever happens to Monsef is ultimately in the hands of the Citizenship and Immigration Minister, John McCallum,” said the former citizenship judge.

“It goes to show: the system is broken.”

More on LINK

[jollyjacktar]

Just like the Lieberals, as always.  The more things change the more they stay the same.

[MCG]

November 7, 1984 – Maryam Monsef was born ...
November 7, 1985 – Date Monsef originally claimed she was born ...

Having worked with an Afghan interpreter to complete his family information on a US security screening form, I would say she is doing pretty good by Afghan standards if the discrepancy in her birth date is only off by a year.  It did not seem to be a date to which the culture attached much significance, and everyone's stated age had some margin of error in it.  It still seems odd to not know which country one is born in though.

[Jarnhamar]

Just like the Lieberals, as always.  The more things change the more they stay the same.

If you save up enough money you can partake in the liberals pay to play program and gain access to influential cabinet ministers.

[George Wallace]

If you save up enough money you can partake in the liberals pay to play program and gain access to influential cabinet ministers.

Foreign or Domestic?   

[QV]

November 7, 1984 – Maryam Monsef was born ...
November 7, 1985 – Date Monsef originally claimed she was born ...


It must be terrible to learn you are actually older than you thought...

[George Wallace]

His first 100 days are over.  Millennials are turning his back on him at gatherings.  Now immigrants and refugees are asking questions.

Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act.

Justin Trudeau defends Maryam Monsef over nationality flap
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Thursday, November 03, 2016, 8:14 PM

OTTAWA — People who are criticizing the federal minister of democratic institutions in a flap over her country of birth are playing political games, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday.

Maryam Monsef said in September she had recently found out she was born in Iran and not in Afghanistan as her mother had always told her.

That prompted some people, including Conservative MP Tony Clement, to say she should step down from her position pending an inquiry into her citizenship application.

But Trudeau said people shouldn’t be mixing Monsef’s story with those of people who have lied to get into the country.

“People are mixing very different situations for political reasons,” he told reporters.

Trudeau said that sometimes when people are fleeing war — as in Monsef’s case — “there is not always perfect clarity on which side of the border one is born.”

People should not mix those cases with “very deliberate acts of omission or dishonesty in trying to get Canadian citizenship through fraudulent declarations or attestations,” Trudeau said.

Certain refugee-rights groups have said the federal government has revoked the citizenship of some people who are in a position similar to Monsef’s.

More on LINK.


Excuse me, Mr Trudeau, but people fleeing a conflict DO HAVE a fairly good knowledge of where they are fleeing from and to where they are fleeing; including over which borders they are crossing.

[milnews.ca]

His first 100 365 days are over. 

Even better ...

Sorry, Team Red, optics alone call for her to step aside until it's sorted out - one way or another.

[ModlrMike]

Bet your a** if this were the last government (or a member across the aisle), the Liberals would be singing a completely different tune.

[Good2Golf]

John McCallum and his staff are likely all over it...............

[SeaKingTacco]

G2G, I believe you omitted a sarcasm icon in your previous post...

[Good2Golf]

G2G, I believe you omitted a sarcasm icon in your previous post...

Guilty, although I was trying the discrete approach using four ellipses............