Feds to send 1,800 phony Canadians packing

[GAP]

Feds to send 1,800 phony Canadians packing
By DAVID AKIN, Parliamentary Bureau Chief
Article Link

OTTAWA - The federal government is moving to strip 1,800 people of their Canadian citizenship after concluding they became citizens using fraudulent means, QMI Agency has learned.

The massive investigation, unprecedented in its scale, involved the RCMP and the federal department of citizenship and immigration.

Since Confederation in 1867, the federal government has only ever revoked the citizenship of 67 people. Now it's ready to strip the citizenship of 1,800, although it will not be a quick process.

The 1,800 who are being targeted by the federal government will have the right to challenge the accusation in federal court, a process the department of justice itself says is complex and could take years to resolve.

And, throughout those legal proceedings, the affected individual will continue to enjoy all the right and privileges of Canadian citizenship.

Those caught in the investigation have now or will very shortly be informed the government intends to revoke their Canadian citizenship.

"These people are costing taxpayers a lot of money," said a senior government official who had knowledge of the investigation. "And they are undermining public support for immigration. We don't want to allow fraud like this."

Over the next day or so, the government is expected to provide details on the investigation and some information on where those accused of obtaining a fraudulent citizenship live.

Among other things, those who become Canadian citizens enjoy access to Canada's health care system and publicly funded benefits such as employment insurance and old age security.

Naturalized Canadians those born in another country but who immigrate here and become citizens ­ can have their citizenship revoked if convicted of fraud in relation to their citizenship application or if their original admission to Canada as an immigrant was completed using fraudulent documents.

Immigrants who knowingly conceal material circumstances in connection with their entry into Canada also risk revocation of citizenship.
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[Stoker]

They'll have their day in court and hopefully be sent packing. Good riddance I say.

 

[OldSolduer]

I can hear the immigration lawyers smacking their lips and clapping their hands and practising such phrases as "cruel and unusual" "intolerant government" "desperation drove them to do this" etc.
As long as its proven that these people need to leave.....I'll be happy with that.

 

[HavokFour]

Sad we can't do this with convicted terrorists.

 

[ballz]

I can hear the immigration lawyers smacking their lips and clapping their hands and practising such phrases as "cruel and unusual" "intolerant government" "desperation drove them to do this" etc.
As long as its proven that these people need to leave.....I'll be happy with that.

You sure that's the lawyers or the NDP?

 

[OldSolduer]

You sure that's the lawyers or the NDP?

Oh both for sure.

:warstory: We used to rarely send people packing and when we did it was always a middle age white guy who's conviction was for peddling drugs and he;'d be sent back to England.
Now its routine to see convicts shipped back to Somlia, Sierra Leone etc....

 

[Tow Tripod]

What ever, people have joined the CF underfradulent terms and have been able to stay in for at least three years collecting a salary.It all relative I guess.

 

[Blackadder1916]

Feds to send 1,800 phony Canadians packing
By DAVID AKIN, Parliamentary Bureau Chief
Article Link

. . . . . .

"These people are costing taxpayers a lot of money," said a senior government official who had knowledge of the investigation. "And they are undermining public support for immigration. We don't want to allow fraud like this."

Over the next day or so, the government is expected to provide details on the investigation and some information on where those accused of obtaining a fraudulent citizenship live.

Among other things, those who become Canadian citizens enjoy access to Canada's health care system and publicly funded benefits such as employment insurance and old age security.

. . . . . .

Mr. Akin is usually accurate with his reporting, but this inclusion in his story (without comment) was probably not totally thought out.  What does having citizenship to do with these individuals receiving the benefits listed?  Coverage under any of the provincial health insurance plans is available to "permanent residents and landed immigrants", not just citizens.  In fact, if one is a citizen but not resident in a province there is no entitlement to health coverage.  The same goes for employment insurance, if one is legally working in Canada and paying EI premiums then citizenship has nothing to do with receiving benefits.  In that period before being granted citizenship, these individuals would have been granted landed immigrant status and would have been legally entitled to these benefits even if not a citizen.

Granted, there are probably a number of persons who should have their citizenship revoked but to colour this push to root out the offenders as being connected to protection of social benefit programs is a little disingenuous.

 

[larry Strong]

I can hear the immigration lawyers smacking their lips and clapping their hands and practising such phrases as "cruel and unusual" "intolerant government" "desperation drove them to do this" etc.
As long as its proven that these people need to leave.....I'll be happy with that.

No kidding and the dollar signs in their eyes.......taxpayer dollars.


This is going to turn into an absolute jug puck..........

 

[BernDawg]

I had a hunch this might be the case...

OTTAWA  - Most of the 1,800 people the feds believe obtained their citizenship fraudulently are Canadians of convenience who don’t even live here, according to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

And he doesn’t expect many to object to the government’s move to revoke their citizenship, which he said could be completed in a year.

“Most of these people, we believe, have never really lived in Canada and are still overseas,” he said Wednesday. “We frankly have got them dead to rights with the proof that we have, and I don’t think a lot of these people want to go through a long, protracted public court battle where it’s clear they fraudulently obtained our citizenship.”

http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/07/20/most-fraudulent-citizens-living-outside-canada-minister

 

[The Bread Guy]

.... “Most of these people, we believe, have never really lived in Canada and are still overseas,” he said Wednesday. “We frankly have got them dead to rights with the proof that we have, and I don’t think a lot of these people want to go through a long, protracted public court battle where it’s clear they fraudulently obtained our citizenship.” ....

Perhaps, but it only needs 1 or 2 with resources and stick-to-it-iveness to keep even a few court cases prominently in the public eye.

 

[OldSolduer]

Canadians of convenience who come here just long enough to gain Canadian citizenship, then leave on an extended stay in the "old country". Then when things in the "old country" blow up....they cry for rescue.


And complain about the sandwiches.

Perhaps, but it only needs 1 or 2 with resources and stick-to-it-iveness to keep even a few court cases prominently in the public eye.

Or a high profile lawyer who will take on the case "pro bono"

 

[The Bread Guy]

Canadians of convenience who come here just long enough to gain Canadian citizenship, then leave on an extended stay in the "old country".

Or retire to the "old country".

Or a high profile lawyer who will take on the case "pro bono"

Zackly

 

[GAP]

Just tacked this article onto one of similar vein....

Feds to track down failed refugees collecting welfare
By Tom Godfrey, QMI Agency
Article Link

TORONTO – The feds are cracking down on bogus refugees who have either gone underground or returned home while still collecting tax-free welfare cheques.

Immigration officials are moving ahead with a plan to monitor provincial welfare rolls to identify refugees who've abandoned their claims or returned to their homeland and are still receiving benefits.

They will review cases of claimants who've had their cases refused, abandoned or withdrawn but may still be here illegally.

Millions of taxpayers' dollars are being dished out to claimants in Ontario who've lost their cases and have gone underground or returned home without notifying border authorities, government officials estimate.

About 60% of all refugees and immigrants resettle in Ontario and most are eligible for social aid, statistics show.

"(Citizenship and Immigration Canada) said it was pursuing more robust info-sharing on refused/abandoned/withdrawn asylum claims with Ontario social agencies and other relevant federal agencies," wrote Bobby Dagenais, a senior program adviser for the department in a Oct. 2011 memo.

"What is the status of these efforts?" Dagenais asked colleagues that included senior officials of Privy Council and Treasury Board in a document obtained under access to information by lawyer Richard Kurland.

The group was told that Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services "were unwilling to pursue the pilot program that CIC had proposed."

Kurland said Ontario is against the sharing of data on failed refugees.

"Ontario is thwarting Ottawa's efforts to crack down on cases where cheques are sent to people who aren't even in Canada," he said.

Enforcement officials said the program would compare the name of failed claimants against welfare collectors and a match can possibly lead to a person in hiding, their arrest and deportation from Canada.

Many of the failed claimants receiving welfare are sought on warrants for failing to leave Canada after their cases were rejected, officials said.

Some 1,400 hardened criminals and 20,000 others are sought on immigration warrants in the Toronto area, according to the Canada Border Services Agency. It is not known how many are failed claimants.

The proposal was part of a 2003 Canada-U.S. agreement on information-sharing to crack down on fraud, terrorists and failed asylum seekers.

It is among a 30-point action plan to target those who abuse the system following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

Charlotte Wilkinson, of the Ministry of Community and Social Services, said her officials have been working with immigration for more than a year on improving the timeliness of their information sharing to ensure only eligible refugee claimants are accessing social assistance.

"We remain committed to ensure that our programs are helping individuals who are legally in Canada and legitimately in need of assistance," Wilkinson said.
end

 

[GAP]

Canada to failed refugees: here’s a one-way plane ticket and $2,000
by macleans.ca on Thursday, July 5, 2012
Article Link

The federal government is offering up to $2,000 and a one-way plane ticket to any failed refugee claimant who will voluntarily leave Canada. The program began in the GTA this week, and is said to be a humane and ultimately cost effective solution to the often drawn-out process of deporting failed asylum seekers.

Often, failed applicants remain in Canada for years after their refugee claims have been refused, and the federal government spends millions to track, monitor and then deport claimants who have gone “underground” to avoid deportation.

There are guidelines as to how the money can only be used by claimants who opt for this program. It can be used towards school, starting a business or finding work. Applicants receive more money if they apply for the program soon after their refugee claim is rejected.

To be eligible for the program, refugees must have no criminal record.
end