Canada's government has trouble detecting citizenship fraud: watchdog

[CanadaWeCome]

[size=10pt][size=10pt]Canada's government has trouble detecting citizenship fraud: watchdog[/size][/size]

Canada's government is doing a bad job of weeding out fraudulent citizenship applications and this means ineligible people can obtain Canadian passports, the country's top watchdog said on Tuesday.

The findings could alarm U.S. critics already worried by what they say are the security risks posed by the new Liberal government's decision to quickly accept 25,000 Syrian refugees after taking power last November.

Auditor General Michael Ferguson said in a report he had discovered a series of problems in the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRC) department, which is responsible for making sure only eligible people can become Canadian nationals.

"We found that (IRC) was not adequately detecting and preventing fraud in the citizenship program," concluded the audit, which said officials lacked a systematic method of identifying and documenting fraud risks.

"People were granted citizenship based on incomplete information or without all of the necessary checks being done," it said. The audit covered the period from July 2014 to October 2015, when the former Conservative government was in power.

More than 260,000 people became Canadian citizens in 2014, an all-time record. Canada has a population of around 36 million.

The system is supposed to weed out people convicted of serious offenses, those who have faked residency papers or have entered into marriages of convenience.

But Ferguson said the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the border security agency were doing a poor job of sharing data about criminal charges and potential residency fraud.

For example, one address was not identified as a problem even though it had been used over a seven-year period by at least 50 applicants, seven of whom were granted citizenship.

Revoking citizenship is time-consuming and costly. As of January 2016, IRC had about 700 revocation cases pending.

The department also has responsibility for refugees and coordinated the effort to bring in 25,000 people from Syria.

In February, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee probed the effort, citing the possibility that violent militants could mix in and cross the long, largely porous U.S.-Canada border.

Congressional aides say U.S. officials remain wary of Canada's screening, noting it is nearly impossible for foreign governments to verify the backgrounds and identities of refugees.

At the time, Canadian officials defended what they said was a very strong security system.

John McCallum, the government minister in charge of the IRC, was due to react to the report later on Tuesday.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

 

[andy108]

I hope they can check the refugees properly. ;D ;D

 

[cyt0plas]

I hope they can check the refugees properly. ;D ;D

They can't. The checks they have been done are woefully inadequate. But hey, who wants qualified, non-criminal immigrants when you can replace them with refugees?

 

[CanadaWeCome]

[size=10pt][size=10pt]Statement[/size][/size]

[size=10pt][size=10pt][size=10pt]Minister McCallum responds to the Auditor General's Report
[/size][/size][/size]

Ottawa, May 3, 2016 – The Hon. John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today issued the following statement:

“As Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, I welcome the findings of the Auditor General’s audit of the Citizenship Program.

“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada accepts the Auditor General’s specific recommendations, and will work quickly to implement them. My department has already made a number of improvements to better identify cases where there is the potential for citizenship fraud.

“Bill C-6 would improve the Citizenship Act by giving citizenship officers the authority to seize fraudulent documents. This addresses one of the Auditor General’s recommendations.

“As well, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has improved procedures on dealing with applicants using addresses flagged as high-risk and implemented better guidance for citizenship officers. It has also undertaken work with CBSA and the RCMP to improve information sharing which will be completed in December 2016, and put in place the new Program Integrity Framework to identify and manage fraud risks in the Citizenship program.

“We have thoroughly reviewed all cases flagged by the Office of the Auditor General to determine if citizenship fraud may have occurred. As a result, we’ve opened investigations toward possible citizenship revocation from about a dozen individuals.

“IRCC has a number of different ways of detecting and preventing fraud, in addition to those the Auditor General focused upon. As well, we are continuously looking for ways to improve fraud detection and prevention processes in all of our programs.”

For further information (media only), please contact:

Media Relations
Communications Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca

 

[bestofluck]

nothing related to Express Entry

 

[jammin24]

They can't. The checks they have been done are woefully inadequate. But hey, who wants qualified, non-criminal immigrants when you can replace them with refugees?

Yes, because all refugees are criminals. Do you have proof of that? The guy named in the article moved to Canada as an immigrant, not a refugee. These refugees are fleeing wars and are severely traumatized already. Canada is a signatory to the UN refugee convention, and is obligated to protect them. If you have a problem with that, maybe you should find another country to immigrate to. Try Australia... their government, despite also being a signatory, has no problem treating innocent refugees like criminals and illegally locking them up. You'd feel right at home with their policies.

 

[cyt0plas]

Yes, because all refugees are criminals. Do you have proof of that?

Nice strawman. We don't know if the refugees are criminals, because we can't background check them. That's a problem.

These refugees are fleeing wars and are severely traumatized already.

Ok. That doesn't mean that Canada should undermine Canadian society to accommodate them.

So they Canada is a signatory to the UN refugee convention, and is obligated to protect them. If you have a problem with that, maybe you should find another country to immigrate to.

The conservatives were doing just fine with refugees until the last election. The country I immigrated to made some changes afterwards.

Try Australia... their government, despite also being a signatory, has no problem treating innocent refugees like criminals and illegally locking them up. You'd feel right at home with their policies.

The treaty requires:

It provides that no one shall expel or return (“refouler”) a refugee
against his or her will, in any manner whatsoever, to a territory where he or
she fears threats to life or freedom

In other words, you can't deport a refugee back to an unsafe place. Australia is not doing that. Canada is not doing that.

 

[Aragorn165]

Posting this here is pointless, not only does it have nothing to do with Express Entry, it has nothing to do with permanent residency, period (it seems to be targeted more at lax rules for granting citizenship)

 

[jammin24]

Nice strawman. We don't know if the refugees are criminals, because we can't background check them. That's a problem.

Ok. That doesn't mean that Canada should undermine Canadian society to accommodate them.

The conservatives were doing just fine with refugees until the last election. The country I immigrated to made some changes afterwards.

The treaty requires:

In other words, you can't deport a refugee back to an unsafe place. Australia is not doing that. Canada is not doing that.

What proof do you have that refugees are undermining society? There's absolutely no evidence that those who have been accepted have committed any crimes. Show me numbers instead of talking out of your ass. The perpetrators of the attacks in Europe were all immigrants, like you and me, not refugees.
But why let facts get in the way of perfectly good baseless prejudices? People like you are everything that's wrong with the world. I come from a country that was war-torn (recovering slowly now), my uncle was shot and killed, and his son, who sought asylum in Australia was locked up like a criminal (for doing something that he was well within his rights to do) and then deported. That started a long downward spiral that ended in his death last year, in part because he was at one point arrested by government forces for no reason other than that he was a member of the minority and had no recourse, and denied medical care that he needed. There are countless other, and much worse, stories. People like you who feel they're entitled or owed something because they come from privileged backgrounds and that the world's most vulnerable people (and Canada is prioritizing these people, widows with children and families) should just be left to rot should be dropped in the middle of Syria or Sudan and see how you fare.

 

[scylla]

I hope they can check the refugees properly. ;D ;D

Refugees aren't the problem when it comes to citizenship fraud. Citizenship fraud is committed by people who come to Canada via other economic streams (e.g. federal skilled worker, provincial nominee). They lie about how much time they've spent in Canada since becoming PRs to try to get citizenship faster and be able to live/work outside of Canada for prolonged periods of time.

Refugees are pretty much stuck in Canada until they get citizenship. Hard for them to lie in citizenship applications and try to get citizenship faster since Canada knows exactly when they became PRs.

The people who submit fraudulent citizenship applications are those who are free to travel outside of Canada and lie about how much time they've spent in Canada since becoming PRs. Again, this is the non-refugee streams like FSW, CEC & PNP (and also family class). So while you may be able to blame some things on refugees - this isn't one of them.

 

[vsoftco]

What always strikes me is why high-tech countries like Canada (or USA in this respect) are not able to track exactly the time one spends inside and the exact date one leaves the country. They should definitely implement an EXIT program so CBSA can quickly verify each exit from the country. I remember that US had a pilot program like this before, US-EXIT, which was discontinued (why?!). AFAIK, if you leave Canada by a land border, your exit record may not be updated. The only time when they update the exit record is when you exit from an airport, and even in that case sometime there are problems. Just implement a system where you get your passport scanned on exit, and all those fraud issues will be a thing of the past.

 

[cyt0plas]

There's absolutely no evidence that those who have been accepted have committed any crimes.

Nor is there proof they haven't, hence they should not be permitted to come.

With Express Entry (for example), it falls on the applicant to prove they don't have a criminal history, and to demonstrate that they meet the economic and other requirements.

Canada doesn't have to prove you can't come.

 

[cyt0plas]

What always strikes me is why high-tech countries like Canada (or USA in this respect) are not able to track exactly the time one spends inside and the exact date one leaves the country.

First, they aren't totalitarian regimes. You are free to leave the country, and there is no required documentation to do so. You can get in a boat and head out, and nobody will stop you.

Second, it's not an easy problem. There are lots of ways to enter and exit the country, and a good amount of documentation one can provide to the various commercial carriers and at various land borders.

 

[Alexios07]

But why let facts get in the way of perfectly good baseless prejudices? People like you are everything that's wrong with the world. I come from a country that was war-torn (recovering slowly now), my uncle was shot and killed, and his son, who sought asylum in Australia was locked up like a criminal (for doing something that he was well within his rights to do) and then deported. That started a long downward spiral that ended in his death last year, in part because he was at one point arrested by government forces for no reason other than that he was a member of the minority and had no recourse, and denied medical care that he needed. There are countless other, and much worse, stories. People like you who feel they're entitled or owed something because they come from privileged backgrounds and that the world's most vulnerable people (and Canada is prioritizing these people, widows with children and families) should just be left to rot should be dropped in the middle of Syria or Sudan and see how you fare.

No need to get emotional. I do agree with cyt0plas that being in a war-torn country doesn't give you a right to immigrate to a developed country. It's not Canada's fault that the Syrian people are killing each other. If you want to make your country better than stay and fight for that, it cannot get better by itself. You are saying cyt0plas is entitled because he's from Canada, but how about you? If Canada, Germany or any other developed countries open their borders, I bet that some Arab countries will become a desert land since no one will want to live in it.

It takes time for all the immigrants to fully integrate with the host country, but most of the time, older immigrants do not want to integrate at all. They keep living their old lifestyles, working in their small community and don't want to learn to speaking English. Look at what happens to Sweden and Germany, accepting a huge amount of refugees at the same time is never a good solution.