Canadian Immigration Information Centre

Poll shows Canadians believe immigrants are a burden on social programs

According to a poll completed this week, more than 50% of Canadians believe that immigrants represent a burden on Canada's social programs. About 66% want the government to give priority to educated or highly skilled foreign nationals seeking to immigrate to Canada. Survey results were closely tied to education levels - respondents with the highest level of education were less likely to believe that immigrants were a burden on the country's social system. 17,601 people were interviewed for the survey in 23 countries. Almost 40% of Canadian respondents said they believed immigration has had a positive impact on the country. Another 35% said they believed immigration has had a negative impact.

Amnesty International asks Canada to protect privacy of fugitives on War Crimes Wanted List

Amnesty International has sent an open letter to the government of Canada in which it is asking the government to ensure that safeguards are in place to protect the privacy of foreign nationals who are the subject of a Canada-wide arrest warrants for violations under international law or the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. The Canada Border Services Agency created a War Crimes Wanted List on its website with the list of 30 foreign nationals in Canada who are wanted for removal. Amnesty International expressed concern that the photos and names of the fugitives were made available on the website because of the potential reputational harm to those persons.  

The War Crimes Wanted List has been successful in locating seven of the fugitives. Two of the fugitives were deported from Canada. One was determined to be the United States. 

Amnesty International suggests that Canada prosecute those on the list rather than returning them to their country of origin. In the open letter, Amnesty International says that under international law, Canada is prohibited from deporting a foreign national if the person faces a serious risk of human rights violations such as torture, execution or enforced disappearance.

That is not the case, however. Under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Canada agreed not to expel a foreign national if there are substantial grounds to believe the foreign national would be subject to torture in the receiving country. This is not absolute and pursuant to the Convention, the prohibition against removal is subject to reasonable limits that can be demonstrably justified under Canadian law.  What this means is that if a foreign national’s presence in Canada would pose a threat to Canada or Canadians, or would otherwise undermine the integrity of the immigration system, the foreign national may be deported regardless of the Convention.  Circumstances where a foreign national’s presence may pose a threat to Canada or Canadians include serious criminality, terrorist threat or other serious security risk (such as war crimes). 

Moreover, under the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, foreign nationals who are refugees in Canada should not be expelled to countries where their life or freedom would be threatened because of their race, religion, nationality, political views or membership in a social group. The right against expulsion is also not absolute in Canada. Under this Convention, certain activities or conduct disqualify a person as a Convention refugee, including if the foreign national committed a crime against peace, a war crime, a crime against humanity, a serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge before being admitted as a refugee, or an act against the principles of the United Nations.

China arrests Lai Changxing after extradition from Canada

The Chinese government arrested Lai Changxing shortly after his arrival in China yesterday. Lai Changxing lived in Canada for the past 12 years. He was extradited from Canada this week. Lai is accused of bribing officials and operating a smuggling ring from his headquarters in the city of Xiamen, China. According to Chinese officials, when the smuggling ring was busted, the government recovered US$6.8 billion of goods at Lai's properties. 14 associates of Lai were given the death penalty in China as a result.

Lai battled extradition for four years from his home in Vancouver. He argued that he could face torture and execution if he was returned to China. 

Canada seeks alleged war criminals in Canada

The Canada Border Services Agency has published a list of 30 foreign nationals whom it says are in Canada and have violated human or international rights under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act or under international law. The alleged war crimes violations would render them inadmissible to Canada.

The Canada Border Services Agency website indicates that the foreign nationals are from Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and the former Yugoslavia. Most are believed to have settled in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.

Court in Canada rejects payment of health care for illegal immigrant

The Federal Court of Appeal in Canada has refused to consider an appeal from an illegal immigrant seeking to have her health care costs paid by Canada. The immigrant, Neil Toussaint, a foreign national from Grenada residing in Toronto, claimed that the government's refusal to pay her medical costs was unconstitutional because it deprived her of the right to life and security of the person. The Federal Court of Canada held that illegal immigrants are not entitled to federal health coverage when they are not legitimately in the immigration system. The Court also held that paying the health costs of illegal immigrants would undermine the immigration system and would render Canada a safe haven for free medical care for other illegal foreign nationals. See our earlier post here.

Canada proposes new body to regulate immigration consultants

The federal government of Canada has proposed the establishment of a new regulatory body to oversee immigration consultants to be called the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council. The new Council will replace the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants. This latter group was criticized for failing to regulate the conduct of its members. 

U.S. seeking extradition of 3 Canadians wanted for money laundering and illegal gambling with ties to PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker

The U.S. government is seeking the arrest and will seek the eventual extradition of three Canadians indicted in New York today for money laundering, bank fraud and illegal gambling. The three Canadians being sought are:

• Isai Scheinberg, currently living in the Isle of Man;
• Nelson Burtnick, currently living in Ireland; and
• Ryan Lang, currently living in Canada.

Eight other individuals, mostly residents of the U.S., were also indicted. The defendants include the founders of three of the largest Internet gambling sites – PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker. 

According to the indictment, the defendants fraudulently circumvented anti-money laundering laws and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act through various means, including by lying about their business operations and investing in small banks to control the decisions made with respect to online gambling clients. 

The U.S. has also filed a concurrent civil complaint seeking to recover from the Canadians and other defendants, US$3 billion that is alleged to be proceeds of crime. Prior to the unsealing of the indictment, the defendants' bank accounts were frozen in 14 countries, including Canada. If the Canadian defendants are arrested and extradited to the U.S., they each face at least 20 years in prison if convicted of the money laundering offences. 

MV Sun Sea refugees allude to being trafficked to Canada and owe debts to the traffickers

According to this report in the Globe and Mail, several of the migrants on the MV Sun Sea appear to have admitted that they were trafficked, and not smuggled to Canada and owe debts to the traffickers that they have no intention of repaying. Minister Kenney, the federal immigration minister for Canada, has said that according to evidence he received from the Australian government, Sri Lankan foreign nationals who are trafficked into places like Australia or Canada are "often pressed into criminal service in areas like credit card fraud." Payments to human smugglers or human traffickers are illegal. A person is trafficked, and not smuggled, if they continue to be indebted to the group who smuggled them. Persons who are trafficked are typically coerced, threatened or forced to provide free labour or services or forced to pay substantial sums to the traffickers for long periods of time. If the payments are made to human trafficking operators in Sri Lanka who are members of the LTTE, or in furtherance of the activities of the LTTE, the payments can be considered terrorist activity financing. Terrorist financing activity is prohibited in Canada. 

Immigration and Refugee Board orders Tamil migrant deported from Canada

The Immigration and Refugee Board has ordered a migrant who entered Canada illegally aboard the MV Sun Sea deported. The man, whose identity cannot be revealed under Canada's privacy laws, admitted he was a member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a terrorist group in Canada, from 1991 to 1996. A foreign national with terrorist ties is generally inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, for security grounds if they engaged in an act of subversion against a government; or engaged in terrorism; or is or was a member of a terrorist organization. The foreign national with ties to the LTTE can also be inadmissible to Canada under serious criminality grounds for committing an act outside of Canada that is an offence in Sri Lanka and if committed in Canada, would be an offence punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least ten years (e.g. money laundering or terrorist activity offences in the Criminal Code of Canada). 

Report suggests human trafficking in Tamil migration to Canada

According to a report by the Canada Services Border Agency that was posted on the National Post website, the majority of the Tamil migrants who came to Canada aboard the MV Sun Sea in August 2010 may have been part of a human trafficking operation. The report entitled "Preliminary Analysis of MV Sun Sea MIgrants' Interview Notes" states that the majority of the migrants were charged a smuggling fee of $20,000 to $30,000 for their voyage on the MV Sun Sea and paid approximately 25% of that amount as a deposit to agents before departing. The remaining 75% of the fee must be paid to the agents from Canada. 

When migrants, or their families, continue to be financially indebted to a person or a group who facilitated, financed or effected their illegal arrival in a country, that is evidence of human trafficking.

A smuggling operation can become a trafficking operation. Migrants may agree to be smuggled on a migrant ship and once on board, become victims of trafficking. This can happen if the smugglers force migrants to provide services (often sexual), labour, or payments of some kind on the vessel or after arrival in Canada, under circumstances where the migrants fear for their safety or that of someone known to them if they refuse to provide that service, labour or payment. 

People that are smuggled are not deprived of liberty when they arrive at their destination, whereas those who are trafficked are deprived of their liberty in one of several ways - they are typically coerced, threatened or physically abused and are usually forced to provide free labour or services, forced into the sex trade, or forced to pay substantial sums to the traffickers for long periods of time.

Tamil migrants cost Canadians $25 million to process

According to this story on CBC News, the arrival of the approximately 490 Tamil migrants from Thailand to Canada in August of last year aboard the MV Sun Sea, cost Canadian taxpayers $25 million. The lion's share of the cost was paid by the Canada Border Services Agency at $22 million, followed by the RCMP at $2.1 million and the Canada Services Border Agency at $908,000. 

Canada discusses border control with U.S.

The U.S. and Canada have announced plans to continue working towards enhanced border control but no additional details are yet available. Some critics are concerned that the discussions have been held in secret, however, both countries appear to following the action plan announced in July by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano and Public Safety Minister, Vic Toews that is designed to improve information sharing among Canada and the U.S. to monitor and protect against national security threats affecting both countries from terrorist financing and money laundering. Canada currently does not have border exit controls in place (i.e., Canada does not record the exit of persons from the country) and is also discussing with the U.S., a mechanism for border exit controls that would coordinate with U.S. entry controls, and vice versa. 

Some of the FBI's "most wanted" have a Canadian connection

According to this story on Duhaime's Anti-Money Laundering Law in Canada, some of the most notorious people listed on several of the FBI's "Most Wanted" lists are foreign nationals with a connection to Canada. The story, available here, lists the following five people being sought by the FBI who have a Canadian connection:

• James J. Bulger – being sought by the FBI for numerous crimes including murder, racketeering and money laundering. Last April, the FBI believed he was in Victoria, British Columbia and local bookstore owners were asked to be on the lookout for him. There is a US$2 million reward for information that leads directly to his arrest. He is #1 on the FBI Most Wanted Fugitives list;
• Semion Mogilevich – being sought for numerous charges including money laundering, securities fraud and mail fraud. Mogilevich is alleged to have defrauded investors of US$150 million through a Canadian public company called YBM Magnex International. In 2002, shareholders of YBM received a $85 million settlement from nine of the directors of YBM, two Toronto law firms, two accounting firms and five underwriting firms. Mogilevich is believed to be in Russia. He is #4 on the FBI Most Wanted Fugitives list;
• Claudiu Virgil Turlea – being sought for numerous charges including money laundering in connection with monetary instruments, bank fraud and computer fraud for hacking into bank accounts and wiring over US$4.3 million to bank accounts he controlled. Turlea is a Romanian foreign national and is believed to be in Canada;
• Tobechi Enyinna Onwuhara – being sought for allegedly using Internet databases to steal identities and access lines of credit to transfer funds to accounts in which he controlled. He is believed to have travelled to Canada and is known to frequent casinos; and
• Farhad Monem – being sought for money laundering, mail fraud, wire fraud and bribery. He has ties to Canada and is known to frequent casinos.

Tamil smuggling ship crew alleged to be part of terrorist group

The Toronto Sun is reporting that four crew members of the MV Sun Sea ship that arrived in Canada in August last year are alleged by the federal government of Canada to be members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a designated terrorist organization in several countries including in Canada and the U.S. Members of terrorist organizations are generally inadmissible to visit or reside in Canada because they pose a threat to the security of Canadians and to Canada.

The LTTE was founded in 1976 and uses illegal methods to raise money, acquire weapons and technology, and publicize its cause of establishing an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka. The LTTE began its armed conflict against the Sri Lankan government in 1983, and uses a guerrilla strategy that often includes acts of terrorism. The LTTE has an army of several thousand combatants and until recently, controlled most of the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka. Over the past 17 years, the LTTE has conducted approximately 200 suicide bombings, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people, and carried out numerous political assassinations, including the assasination of two world leaders - the only terrorist organization to do so. 

The MV Sun Sea was used to illegally smuggle 492 Tamil migrants to Canada. It is not known whether the crew will be charged with human smuggling or money laundering in connection with the MV Sun Sea's voyage. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act makes it an offence to smuggle people into Canada. A person who smuggles ten or more people in Canada is liable to a term of life imprisonment and a fine of $1 million on conviction. Human smuggling is a predicate offence for money laundering under the Criminal Code of Canada. 

Refugee from Sudan with extensive record for aggravated sexual assault ordered held in custody

Clato Mabior, a foreign national from Sudan in his mid-30s, who claimed refugee protection in Canada in 2000, will remain in custody for now. The Federal Court of Canada granted an interim stay of a decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board to release Mabior. Although a Convention refugee, Mabior will likely be removed from Canada because of his extensive criminal record in this country. Mabior was convicted of six counts of aggravated sexual assault, and one count of sexual interference and sexual touching. One of the convictions involved the sexual assault on a young girl who was 12-years-old. 

 "I am pleased the Court has prevented Mr. Mabior''s release until the stay application can be heard. There are very important issues at stake for the safety and security of Canadians and I look forward to counsel presenting our position on those issues to the Court in the coming days." said Minister Vic Toews. "Our government remains unwavering in its commitment to protect the safety and security of Canadian families. We do not tolerate those who come to this country and commit serious crimes."

Federal Court of Canada upholds security certificate over terrorism ties

The Federal Court of Canada has ruled that a security certificate declaring Mohammed Harkat inadmissible to Canada is valid because Mr. Harkat’s ties to terrorist organizations pose a danger to the security of Canada.

The Court found that Mr. Harket had links to Islamic extremist groups before coming to Canada and maintained those ties when he immigrated to Canada. The Court also found that Harkat provided terrorist financing to Islamic extremists in Canada by, among other things, paying or facilitating the payment of legal fees to a law firm to assist Al Shehre (whom the Court found to be a jihadist, terrorist and Islamic extremist with connections to Al-Qaeda or the Bin Laden network) in a Canadian immigration matter. Shehre arrived in Canada in 1996 and was deported to Saudi Arabia in 1997 because of ties to terrorism.

Mr. Harkat is a foreign national from Algeria who claimed refugee status in Canada in 1996. In 2008, a security certificate was issued against him by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety.

Federal Court Justice Mr. Simon Noël found that Mr. Harkat’s testimony about his life was inconsistent and concluded that significant portions of his evidence was not reliable.

In issuing the security certificate, the government alleged that Mr. Harkat had:

• Been an active member of the Bin Laden network.
• Lied about his occupation in Pakistan.
• Engaged in activities to support Islamic extremists organizations.
• Been a member of the Front Islamique du Salut, an Algerian group that was aligned with the Group Islamique armé, a group that supports terrorism.
• Engaged in activities in Canada for the Bin Laden network.
• Arrived in Canada with a fake passport from Saudi Arabia.
• Used at least 8 aliases to hide his true identity and conduct activities on behalf of the Bin Laden network.
• Been a “sleeper” agent in Canada to conduct covert activities in support of Islamic extremism.
• Used security techniques to avoid detection.
• Lied about his past whereabouts, including time he spent in Afghanistan.
• Concealed his links with Islamic extremists.
• Maintained links to the financial structure of the Bin Laden network and concealed those links.
• Engaged in terrorist financing by having access to, received, held or invested money derived from terrorists, or terrorist property.
• Assisted Islamic extremists in Canada and other foreign nationals who were Islamic extremists enter Canada, including Abu Messab Al Shehre.
• Maintained contact with international Islamic extremists or terrorists including some associated with the Bin Laden network and Ahmed Said Khadr, the father of Abdullah Khadr and Omar Khadr, and a known affiliate of Osama Bin Laden. Omar Khadr is serving an eight year sentence in Guantanamo Bay for murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism and spying.

At the public and secret hearings additional evidence emerged that Mr. Harkat:

• Rushed to get married to solve what he viewed as his Canadian immigration problem.
• Considered his relationship with his new Canadian wife “not serious” and stated that he could leave her at any time.
• Became engaged to an Algerian woman some months after marrying his Canadian girlfriend and promised to return to Algeria to marry her. He told the Court that he had no real intention of marrying the Algerian fiancée.
• Looked for someone to impersonate him to write a taxi exam on his behalf.
• Gambled and lost over $100,000 at the Lac Leamy Casino and Montréal Casino while maintaining a minimum wage job.
• Collected unemployment insurance while working.

An earlier certificate was issued against Mr. Harkat in 2002. In 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada held that the enabling sections of theImmigration and Refugee Protection Act violated Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms because they limited a foreign national’s right to know and answer the case against him or her. Consequently, those provisions were declared of no force and effect.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Act, the Ministers of Citizenship and Immigration and of Public Safety may sign a certificate stating that a foreign national is inadmissible to Canada on security grounds and if signed, the certificate is referred to the Federal Court for a determination as to whether the certificate is reasonable or not.

The Harkat decision is available here (In the Matter of a Certificate Signed Pursuant to §77(1) and In the Matter of Mohammed Harkat, 2010 FC 1241).

Swiss voters approve referendum to automatically expel foreign nationals

Voters in Switzerland have approved a proposed amendment to their Constitution that would require the automatic expulsion, or deportation, of foreign nationals in that country who are convicted of certain criminal offences or who abuse the social insurance or social benefits system in Switzerland.

The amendment was put to voters in a referendum, entitled "Pour le renvoi des étrangers criminels".

The offences that trigger the automatic removal of foreign nationals to remain in Switzerland upon conviction are:

• murder,
• sexual assault,
• serious sexual-related offences (e.g. possession of child pornography),
• other violent acts such as robbery,
• human trafficking,
• drug trafficking, or
• burglary.

Once a foreign national is stripped of their status to remain in Switzerland as a result of a conviction of one of the crimes referred to above, or for having abused the Swiss social welfare system, he or she is subject to expulsion (deportation) to their country of origin and are prohibited from returning to Switzerland for a term that will range from 5 to 15 years. 

Potential defeat of anti-human smuggling bill in Canada sends wrong message

Potential Defeat of Bill C-49

The government's proposed immigration legislation to deter human trafficking and human smuggling (Bill C-49 Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada's Immigration System Act), is likely to be defeated by opposition parties. The proposed bill is said to be widely supported by the Canadian public but not by the immigration industry (including immigration consultants and refugee lawyers) who has a financial stake in the outcome.

Bill C-49 would have saved Canadians millions of dollars per year, and improved the integrity and financial viability of Canada's immigration system by enabling immigration and law enforcement officials to prevent, deter and prosecute immigration fraud, human smuggling and trafficking of persons to Canada. It would also have expanded Canada's ability to detect and prevent money-laundering activities that are an integral part of every illegal human trafficking and human smuggling operation.

The potential defeat of Bill C-49 means that, to the outside world, Canada is seen as taking a weak approach to human trafficking and human smuggling and acting inconsistently with its obligations under international law to fully and effectively implement the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and two supplementary protocols, The Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants, and The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. 

Difference between Human Trafficking and Smuggling

Human smuggling involves the illegal movement of people across borders and is by definition, international. Unlike trafficked persons, smuggled persons usually consent to being smuggled and voluntarily pay large sums of money to the smugglers in advance.

Human trafficking is a modern form of slavery, defined as any act that involves the transport, harbouring, or sale of persons through coercion, force, kidnapping, deception or fraud, for the purposes of placing them in a situation of forced prostitution, domestic servitude, debt bondage or other slavery-like practice.

Human trafficking can be local, national or international - a person may be trafficked from a small town to a large city within the same country, or trafficked to another country.

People that are smuggled are not deprived of liberty when they arrive at their destination, whereas those who are trafficked are deprived of their liberty in one of several ways - they are typically coerced, threatened or physically abused and are usually forced to provide free labour or services, forced into the sex trade, or forced to pay substantial sums to the traffickers for long periods of time.

The destruction of identification or travel documents is a sign of human trafficking, not usually smuggling. Trafficked persons are usually ordered to destroy their travel documents to protect the traffickers. Often the traffickers will destroy the travel documents of the persons they are trafficking as a means of controlling them. 

A smuggling operation can become a trafficking operation. Migrants may agree to be smuggled on a migrant ship and once on board, become victims of trafficking. This can happen if the smugglers force migrants to provide services (often sexual), labour, or payments of some kind on the vessel or after arrival in Canada, under circumstances where the migrants fear for their safety or that of someone known to them if they refuse to provide that service, labour or payment. 

When migrants, or their families, continue to be financially indebted to a person or a group who facilitated, financed or effected their illegal arrival in a country, that is evidence of human trafficking, not human smuggling. 

Money Laundering Connection

All human smuggling and human trafficking activities involve money laundering. Money laundering is a process whereby the proceeds of crime are transformed into apparently legitimate money or other assets. Human trafficking and human smuggling are crimes in most countries, including Canada. Any money paid to traffickers and smugglers is proceeds of crime. Because criminals need to integrate their criminal proceeds back into the legitimate financial system, the funds must be laundered. Canada was criticized by the FATF during its Mutual Evaluation of Canada for its weak enforcement of anti-money laundering laws and its failure to comply with international anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing standards. The potential defeat of Bill C-49 may not bode well for Canada during its next Mutual Evaluation by the international community. 

Federal Court overturns decision to release unidentified Tamil migrant

A judge with Canada's Federal Court has ruled that a decision by an Immigration and Refugee Board in Vancouver to release a Tamil foreign national whose identity has not been ascertained, was wrong. The Tamil foreign national arrived in Canada aboard the MV Sun Sea in August without identification for her or her children. She claimed that the agent who organized the human smuggling operation took her identification. The IRB adjudicator had wrongly decided that because the government of Canada had not made sufficient attempts to ascertain her identity, she could be released.  

Refugees continue to flock to Canada - many with bogus claims

Statistics by the Immigration and Refugee Board show that more than 16,000 refugees claimed protection in Canada from January to September of 2010. During that same time, slightly more than 50% of the refugee claims processed were unfounded and denied, and more that 3,000 refugees changed their mind about being a refugee and withdrew their claims. Other key refugee statistics include the following:

• top refugee source country to Canada - China
• backlog of refugee cases - 53,000
• number of backlog cases in Toronto - 28,000
• number of monthly bogus claimants from U.S. - 440
• reason for claimants from U.S. - foreign nationals who fled US to avoid deportation
• number of bogus refugee claimants waiting for deportation - 15,000
• number of bogus refugee claimants facing deportation who have disappeared - 38,000

You can read more here in this article.