Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced new measures Wednesday to expedite the deportation of foreigners who commit crimes in Canada, saying itâs time to end the âabuse of Canadaâs generosity.â
The Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, tabled Wednesday, will allow the government to automatically deport refugees, immigrants and visitors to Canada who are convicted of a serious crime and serve more than six months in jail. Those criminals will lose their right to appeal the decision, which would allow them to extend their stay in the country.
âThese tough but fair measures will ensure that foreign criminals wonât be allowed to endlessly abuse Canadaâs generosity,â Kenney said at a news conference in Ottawa Wednesday.
âCanadians believe that even foreign criminals should get their day in court. But they shouldnât get endless years in court, delaying their inevitable deportation,â he said.
âItâs time to send a clear message to foreign criminals: âIf you commit a serious crime in Canada, weâre going to send you packing as quickly as we can.â
Currently, non-Canadian citizens who are sentenced to less than two years behind bars can appeal their removal from the country to the Immigration Appeal Division.
The proposed legislation would only allow those sentenced to less than six months in jail to make such an appeal. People with criminal convictions in other countries that would carry a maximum sentence of at least 10 years in Canada will also no longer be able to appeal to the IAD.
The proposed changes would also ensure that foreign nationals who are inadmissible to Canada on the most serious grounds â security, human or international rights violations, or because of links to organized crime â will no longer be able to delay their removal by appealing their case on humanitarian or compassionate grounds, Kenney said.
âThis is a serious problem,â Kenny told CTVâs Power Play later Wednesday. âWeâve had hundreds of cases of foreign criminals convicted in Canada to six months or more of a prison sentence and theyâve managed to delay their deportation for years and sometimes more than a decade.â
Kenney cited examples of notorious criminals with multiple convictions who were able to remain in Canada for years, thanks to drawn-out appeal procedures and court delays.
One of them, alleged Calgary gangster Jackie Tran, was able to fight his deportation to Vietnam for almost six years, Kenney said.
In many cases, convicted criminals appealing their removal from Canada ended up committing more crimes while their appeals moved through the legal system, he added.
The new rules will also make it harder for those who pose a risk to Canada to enter the country in the first place, Kenney said.
Other changes in the proposed legislation include:
⢠Denying temporary resident status to an individual âon the basis of public policy considerations.â For example, someone who promotes violence against a religious or ethnic group would not be granted temporary residence in Canada.
⢠Foreigners with family members considered to be dangerous (i.e. war criminals) would not be allowed entry to Canada. However, those who are considered âlow-riskâ would be granted temporary entry despite having family members who are inadmissible.
⢠A five-year inadmissibility period for those who lie on their immigration applications
Although the new rules will prevent foreign criminals from accessing the standard appeals process, they will still be entitled to whatâs known as a pre-removal risk assessment, Kenney told Power Play.
That ensures that immigration officials wonât deport people to countries where they will face torture or âcruel and unusual punishment,â Kenney said.
The Conservatives had promised to streamline Canadaâs deportation laws and overhaul the countryâs immigration system in their election platform.
The Conservative government should have introduced the changes announced Wednesday âa long time ago,â Kennedy told Power Play.
Changes to Canadaâs immigration and refugee policies, contained in Bill C-31, recently passed third reading in the House of Commons.