Interesting statistics.
Birth rate up for sixth year in a row: StatsCan Health & Fitness Life Toronto Sun
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
EU TO STEM IMMIGRATION FLOWS FROM NORTH AFRICA
This predictable response always occurs when there is a massive flow of illegals into a specific area, seeking to take advantage of lax controls. As a result, law-abiding citizens always see their rights and advantages curtailed, paying the price for those who abuse the system.
EU powers looking to tighten up open border
EU powers looking to tighten up open border
Nadege Puljak and Gildas Le Roux, Agence France Presse ·
Apr. 27, 2011 Last Updated: Apr. 27, 2011 4:08 AM ET
ROME. France and Italy proposed a reform of Europe's open-borders treaty Tuesday that would allow member states to re-impose internal frontier controls temporarily if there is a major influx of migrants.
At a summit in Rome, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, agreed on a letter outlining their demands to European Union (EU) leaders.
Since January, thousands of migrants from North Africa have fled to Italy and many are now trying to enter France.
"We both believe that in exceptional circumstances there should be variations to the Schengen treaty," Mr. Berlusconi said.
"For the treaty to stay alive, it must be reformed," Mr. Sarkozy added.
The Schengen treaty, which was signed in 1985, was billed as a giant step toward European integration. It allowed passport-free travel to 400 million people in 25 nations (Britain did not sign on).
This year's planned reform of Schengen should look at "the possibility of restoring internal border checks temporarily in cases of exceptional difficulty in managing common external borders," the letter said.
The European Commission, the EU's executive, said it was drawing up "precise conditions" under which states could suspend the rules of the treaty. Spokesman Olivier Bailly said reinstating border patrols between EU states covered by the treaty would be a "last resort."
"You would have to leave the EU to suspend Schengen," he said.
At present, controls can be re-introduced only when there is a "grave threat to the public order or internal security" of an EU state.
The letter also called for the reinforcement of the EU's Warsaw-based border agency Frontex and for agreements on immigration between the EU and states in the southern Mediterranean that will allow deportations.
Paris has accused Rome of abusing the Schengen pact by issuing temporary residence permits and travel documents to North African migrants, including French-speaking Tunisians.
Many of the more than 20,000 Tunisians given papers by Italy have friends and relatives in French cities and have been streaming across the border into France.
Both Mr. Berlusconi and Mr. Sarkozy -who faces a presidential election in a year's time -are under right-wing pressure to curb immigration at a time in which unrest in North Africa has displaced thousands of people.
Italy has complained for weeks of being left alone to cope with migrants from North Africa. About 30,000 have arrived so far this year.
EU powers looking to tighten up open border
EU powers looking to tighten up open border
Nadege Puljak and Gildas Le Roux, Agence France Presse ·
Apr. 27, 2011 Last Updated: Apr. 27, 2011 4:08 AM ET
ROME. France and Italy proposed a reform of Europe's open-borders treaty Tuesday that would allow member states to re-impose internal frontier controls temporarily if there is a major influx of migrants.
At a summit in Rome, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, and Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, agreed on a letter outlining their demands to European Union (EU) leaders.
Since January, thousands of migrants from North Africa have fled to Italy and many are now trying to enter France.
"We both believe that in exceptional circumstances there should be variations to the Schengen treaty," Mr. Berlusconi said.
"For the treaty to stay alive, it must be reformed," Mr. Sarkozy added.
The Schengen treaty, which was signed in 1985, was billed as a giant step toward European integration. It allowed passport-free travel to 400 million people in 25 nations (Britain did not sign on).
This year's planned reform of Schengen should look at "the possibility of restoring internal border checks temporarily in cases of exceptional difficulty in managing common external borders," the letter said.
The European Commission, the EU's executive, said it was drawing up "precise conditions" under which states could suspend the rules of the treaty. Spokesman Olivier Bailly said reinstating border patrols between EU states covered by the treaty would be a "last resort."
"You would have to leave the EU to suspend Schengen," he said.
At present, controls can be re-introduced only when there is a "grave threat to the public order or internal security" of an EU state.
The letter also called for the reinforcement of the EU's Warsaw-based border agency Frontex and for agreements on immigration between the EU and states in the southern Mediterranean that will allow deportations.
Paris has accused Rome of abusing the Schengen pact by issuing temporary residence permits and travel documents to North African migrants, including French-speaking Tunisians.
Many of the more than 20,000 Tunisians given papers by Italy have friends and relatives in French cities and have been streaming across the border into France.
Both Mr. Berlusconi and Mr. Sarkozy -who faces a presidential election in a year's time -are under right-wing pressure to curb immigration at a time in which unrest in North Africa has displaced thousands of people.
Italy has complained for weeks of being left alone to cope with migrants from North Africa. About 30,000 have arrived so far this year.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
MISREPRESENTATION, LIES, RESULT IN JAIL TIME
This is a somewhat unusual result, bu ta cautionary note for those considering lying to obtain status. Just because some people get away with it, it doe snot mean that the consequences can be sever if caught. Do not misrepresent!
Russian man gets 45 days in jail for lying on immigration form - Front - TheChronicleHerald.ca
Russian man gets 45 days in jail for lying on immigration form
By STEVE BRUCE Court Reporter
Mon, Apr 25 - 3:22 PM
A Russian man who jumped ship in Halifax back in 1992 has been given 45 days in jail for forging his ex-wife’s signature on his application for permanent resident status in Canada.
Ruslan Tikhomirov, 42, was sentenced in Halifax provincial court last week on an Immigration and Refugee Protection Act charge of misrepresenting the facts.
The Crown proceeded by indictment against the Halifax man, which meant the maximum penalty for the offence was five years in prison or a $100,000 fine.
The prosecutor asked that Tikhomirov be jailed for 90 days, while defence lawyer Geoff Newton proposed a period of probation or a fine.
Judge Bill Digby said incarceration was necessary in this case to send a message of deterrence to the public and to immigrants considering lying on their applications.
Tikhomirov, whose claim for refugee status after he jumped ship was unsuccessful, has been fighting a deportation order from Citizenship and Immigration Canada since the 1990s. He married a Canadian woman in 1995 but they separated in 1999.
Court was told that the Russian pretended he was still married to the woman when he filed new immigration documents a few years ago. Because of some discrepancies in the forms, the application was referred to immigration officers for further investigation.
Those officers, after detecting the fraudulent behaviour, passed the matter on to the Canada Border Services Agency, which pressed charges.
Blair MacDonald, an investigator with the agency, said the government treats this kind of offence seriously.
“There’s a process for foreign nationals to become permanent residents of Canada,” MacDonald said.
“Their truthfulness is essential and an integral part of the process.”
The deportation order against Tikhomirov remains in place, the court was told.
Russian man gets 45 days in jail for lying on immigration form - Front - TheChronicleHerald.ca
Russian man gets 45 days in jail for lying on immigration form
By STEVE BRUCE Court Reporter
Mon, Apr 25 - 3:22 PM
A Russian man who jumped ship in Halifax back in 1992 has been given 45 days in jail for forging his ex-wife’s signature on his application for permanent resident status in Canada.
Ruslan Tikhomirov, 42, was sentenced in Halifax provincial court last week on an Immigration and Refugee Protection Act charge of misrepresenting the facts.
The Crown proceeded by indictment against the Halifax man, which meant the maximum penalty for the offence was five years in prison or a $100,000 fine.
The prosecutor asked that Tikhomirov be jailed for 90 days, while defence lawyer Geoff Newton proposed a period of probation or a fine.
Judge Bill Digby said incarceration was necessary in this case to send a message of deterrence to the public and to immigrants considering lying on their applications.
Tikhomirov, whose claim for refugee status after he jumped ship was unsuccessful, has been fighting a deportation order from Citizenship and Immigration Canada since the 1990s. He married a Canadian woman in 1995 but they separated in 1999.
Court was told that the Russian pretended he was still married to the woman when he filed new immigration documents a few years ago. Because of some discrepancies in the forms, the application was referred to immigration officers for further investigation.
Those officers, after detecting the fraudulent behaviour, passed the matter on to the Canada Border Services Agency, which pressed charges.
Blair MacDonald, an investigator with the agency, said the government treats this kind of offence seriously.
“There’s a process for foreign nationals to become permanent residents of Canada,” MacDonald said.
“Their truthfulness is essential and an integral part of the process.”
The deportation order against Tikhomirov remains in place, the court was told.
Monday, April 25, 2011
PROTEST AGAINST IMMIGRATION FRAUD IN B.C.
I hope the new Federal government will finally deal with this pervasive problem, rather than use it for political expediency.
B.C. residents rally against immigration fraud
By Andy Ivens, Postmedia News
April 24, 2011
SURREY, B.C. — Dozens of people rallied against immigration fraud in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey on Sunday, calling for stronger sanctions against fraudulent immigration consultants.
Turban-clad protesters held up signs saying: “Don’t fall in visa trap,” “I want my parents to live with me,” and “Warning — visa scam.”
Balvir Singh Dhalival, secretary of the group South Asian Immigration and Marriage Fraud Victims Society (SAIM), said about 1,000 people in B.C. have been stung by the dubious antics of fraudsters in the lucrative business.
“The problem is at the (federal) government level,” Dhalival said at the rally.
The government requires immigration consultants to be licensed, Dhalival noted, but bad apples keep preying on innocent newcomers eager to reunite their families in Canada.
In one case, a victim has been waiting for an immigration fraud to be punished for three years, he said.
“The government hasn’t done anything so far,” Dhalival alleged.
“(Immigration consultants) are taking people’s money and they promise they can get your relatives (into Canada),” he said.
“They make a promise and do nothing.”
He estimates victims are often defrauded out of $15,000 to $20,000.
“We are suggesting to Jason Kenney there should be a bond,” said Dhalival. Kenney, currently a Conservative MP in Alberta, was immigration minister before the election was called.
If consultants were required to post a $1-million bond to ensure they operate ethically, the problem would be curbed, he said.
He estimated SAIM was following 1,000 cases of fraud in B.C. last year.
“I hope the government listens to us and the voters listen, too,” said Dhalival.
Attempts to reach a spokesperson for the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants were unsuccessful on Sunday.
Vancouver Province
B.C. residents rally against immigration fraud
By Andy Ivens, Postmedia News
April 24, 2011
SURREY, B.C. — Dozens of people rallied against immigration fraud in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey on Sunday, calling for stronger sanctions against fraudulent immigration consultants.
Turban-clad protesters held up signs saying: “Don’t fall in visa trap,” “I want my parents to live with me,” and “Warning — visa scam.”
Balvir Singh Dhalival, secretary of the group South Asian Immigration and Marriage Fraud Victims Society (SAIM), said about 1,000 people in B.C. have been stung by the dubious antics of fraudsters in the lucrative business.
“The problem is at the (federal) government level,” Dhalival said at the rally.
The government requires immigration consultants to be licensed, Dhalival noted, but bad apples keep preying on innocent newcomers eager to reunite their families in Canada.
In one case, a victim has been waiting for an immigration fraud to be punished for three years, he said.
“The government hasn’t done anything so far,” Dhalival alleged.
“(Immigration consultants) are taking people’s money and they promise they can get your relatives (into Canada),” he said.
“They make a promise and do nothing.”
He estimates victims are often defrauded out of $15,000 to $20,000.
“We are suggesting to Jason Kenney there should be a bond,” said Dhalival. Kenney, currently a Conservative MP in Alberta, was immigration minister before the election was called.
If consultants were required to post a $1-million bond to ensure they operate ethically, the problem would be curbed, he said.
He estimated SAIM was following 1,000 cases of fraud in B.C. last year.
“I hope the government listens to us and the voters listen, too,” said Dhalival.
Attempts to reach a spokesperson for the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants were unsuccessful on Sunday.
Vancouver Province
Sunday, April 24, 2011
CONTROVERSIAL CLERIC WANTS TO GET BACK TO CANADA
Draw your own conclusions.
The Canadian Press: Controversial Muslim cleric detained in US wants to return to Canada
Controversial Muslim cleric detained in US wants to return to Canada
(The Canadian Press) – 17 hours ago
MONTREAL — A controversial Muslim cleric who once led Montreal protests against the cartoon drawings of Muhammad wants to return to Canada after being deported three years ago.
Said Jaziri is currently being held in a California detention centre for trying to sneak into the country from Mexico in the trunk of a car.
Jaziri was a high-profile preacher at a Montreal mosque and has been accused of expressing extreme views before he was deported to Tunisia in 2007 over immigration concerns.
Canadian authorities say Jaziri presented false information to get into Canada in 1997, and lied about having a criminal record in France, where he served jail time.
But his lawyer, civil liberties advocate Julius Grey, says Jaziri has "never committed a serious offence."
While in Montreal, Jaziri received widespread media attention as the province grappled with religious accommodation, leading protests over the publication of Prophet Muhammad cartoons in a Danish newspaper.
He called on the government to fund a $20-million mosque in Montreal.
He also advocated for Canada to allow a special court based on Sharia law, a Muslim code of faith followed by most believers.
In an interview with the Montreal daily La Presse, Jaziri apologized to Quebecers and promised to preach a more moderate form of Islam if allowed to return.
Jaziri opposed being deported to Tunisia because he feared he would be tortured by the government.
He told La Presse he fled the country for South America, though it's unclear what his treatment was like in Tunisia.
The Canadian Press: Controversial Muslim cleric detained in US wants to return to Canada
Controversial Muslim cleric detained in US wants to return to Canada
(The Canadian Press) – 17 hours ago
MONTREAL — A controversial Muslim cleric who once led Montreal protests against the cartoon drawings of Muhammad wants to return to Canada after being deported three years ago.
Said Jaziri is currently being held in a California detention centre for trying to sneak into the country from Mexico in the trunk of a car.
Jaziri was a high-profile preacher at a Montreal mosque and has been accused of expressing extreme views before he was deported to Tunisia in 2007 over immigration concerns.
Canadian authorities say Jaziri presented false information to get into Canada in 1997, and lied about having a criminal record in France, where he served jail time.
But his lawyer, civil liberties advocate Julius Grey, says Jaziri has "never committed a serious offence."
While in Montreal, Jaziri received widespread media attention as the province grappled with religious accommodation, leading protests over the publication of Prophet Muhammad cartoons in a Danish newspaper.
He called on the government to fund a $20-million mosque in Montreal.
He also advocated for Canada to allow a special court based on Sharia law, a Muslim code of faith followed by most believers.
In an interview with the Montreal daily La Presse, Jaziri apologized to Quebecers and promised to preach a more moderate form of Islam if allowed to return.
Jaziri opposed being deported to Tunisia because he feared he would be tortured by the government.
He told La Presse he fled the country for South America, though it's unclear what his treatment was like in Tunisia.
IMMIGRATION AND THE ELECTION
Summary of political parties position on immigration published by the Vancouver Sun.
Canada's three major parties on immigration:
Vancouver SunApril 23, 2011
CONSERVATIVES
. The Conservative government recently announced that 280,636 immigrants came to Canada in 2010, emphasizing that number was the highest in 57 years.
. The Conservative government passed a bill that would accelerate the process for expelling false refugee claimants, and has introduced legislation to intern claimants who arrive en masse.
. The Conservatives cut $53 million from immigrant and refugee-settlement programs in December 2010, mostly in Ontario. Conservative leader Stephen Harper announced $6 million for immigrant-training programs this month.
LIBERALS
. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said Canada's future economic success "turns" on immigration. "Immigrants are finding it tougher to get ahead. We've got to have language training as long as you need it. We need to have integration services as long as you need it."
. Ignatieff said he would reverse what he called a 15-per-cent cut in family reunification visas, and the 25-per-cent cut to those for parents and grandparents.
"Why are you going to come to Canada if you can't bring your family?" said Ignatieff, who noted his father came to Canada from Russia.
. Ignatieff called for a "fairness commissioner" in Ottawa who would check on professional organizations -such as those representing doctors, engineers and pharmacists -to make sure they are not discriminating against immigrants.
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
. NDP leader Jack Layton says: "One of the most disturbing aspects of what the Harper government is doing is that they're encouraging more and more people to come here as temporary foreign workers . What we're seeing is more and more of this focus on the immigrant as some kind of an economic unit."
. The NDP promises to stop the decline in family reunification under Canada's immigration system, and to work to meet the target of allowing immigration to reach one per cent of the population per year.
. The NDP promises to implement an appeal division under the Immigration Act -to give refugee claimants an opportunity to have decisions quickly reviewed, without having to go through the lengthy process of applying to the Federal Court of Canada.
Canada's three major parties on immigration:
Vancouver SunApril 23, 2011
CONSERVATIVES
. The Conservative government recently announced that 280,636 immigrants came to Canada in 2010, emphasizing that number was the highest in 57 years.
. The Conservative government passed a bill that would accelerate the process for expelling false refugee claimants, and has introduced legislation to intern claimants who arrive en masse.
. The Conservatives cut $53 million from immigrant and refugee-settlement programs in December 2010, mostly in Ontario. Conservative leader Stephen Harper announced $6 million for immigrant-training programs this month.
LIBERALS
. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff said Canada's future economic success "turns" on immigration. "Immigrants are finding it tougher to get ahead. We've got to have language training as long as you need it. We need to have integration services as long as you need it."
. Ignatieff said he would reverse what he called a 15-per-cent cut in family reunification visas, and the 25-per-cent cut to those for parents and grandparents.
"Why are you going to come to Canada if you can't bring your family?" said Ignatieff, who noted his father came to Canada from Russia.
. Ignatieff called for a "fairness commissioner" in Ottawa who would check on professional organizations -such as those representing doctors, engineers and pharmacists -to make sure they are not discriminating against immigrants.
NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY
. NDP leader Jack Layton says: "One of the most disturbing aspects of what the Harper government is doing is that they're encouraging more and more people to come here as temporary foreign workers . What we're seeing is more and more of this focus on the immigrant as some kind of an economic unit."
. The NDP promises to stop the decline in family reunification under Canada's immigration system, and to work to meet the target of allowing immigration to reach one per cent of the population per year.
. The NDP promises to implement an appeal division under the Immigration Act -to give refugee claimants an opportunity to have decisions quickly reviewed, without having to go through the lengthy process of applying to the Federal Court of Canada.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
INVESTOR PROGRAM A TARGET FOR FRAUD
A scandal no matter from which angle one looks at this. Time for deep and meaningful reforms.
How China’s ‘crooked consultants’ help the rich enter Canada - The Globe and Mail
How China’s ‘crooked consultants’ help the rich enter Canada - The Globe and Mail
Friday, April 22, 2011
BOGUS JOBS AND IMMIGRATION ALLEGED
This is, sadly, all too common: people look for shortcuts, then fall prey to unscrupulous "consultants" who are unlicensed and make outlandish promises.
Advice to all applicants: hire a competent, experienced lawyer. Good legal representation costs money but in the end, it saves headaches.
Man charged for running bogus immigration and employment agency - thestar.com
Man charged for running bogus immigration and employment agency
Published On Thu Apr 21
Liem Vu
Staff Reporter
A 46-year-old man is facing charges for allegedly running a fraudulent business that targeted prospective immigrants searching for employment and citizenship in Canada.
Police said the bogus business was run from August 2009 to September 2010 and targeted people hoping to bring over friends and family from the Philippines.
The man offered job opportunities and immigration possibilities to people at a cost of $1,000 per person.
Clients faced months-long delays and were given numerous excuses explaining why the agency could not get the proper immigration documents, said police.
Marion Navalta Valdez, of Toronto, faces three counts of fraud over $5,000 and seven counts of fraud under $5,000.
Police suspect there may be more victims.
Anyone with more information is being urged to contact police at 416-808-7300 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers 416-222-TIPS (8477).
Advice to all applicants: hire a competent, experienced lawyer. Good legal representation costs money but in the end, it saves headaches.
Man charged for running bogus immigration and employment agency - thestar.com
Man charged for running bogus immigration and employment agency
Published On Thu Apr 21
Liem Vu
Staff Reporter
A 46-year-old man is facing charges for allegedly running a fraudulent business that targeted prospective immigrants searching for employment and citizenship in Canada.
Police said the bogus business was run from August 2009 to September 2010 and targeted people hoping to bring over friends and family from the Philippines.
The man offered job opportunities and immigration possibilities to people at a cost of $1,000 per person.
Clients faced months-long delays and were given numerous excuses explaining why the agency could not get the proper immigration documents, said police.
Marion Navalta Valdez, of Toronto, faces three counts of fraud over $5,000 and seven counts of fraud under $5,000.
Police suspect there may be more victims.
Anyone with more information is being urged to contact police at 416-808-7300 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers 416-222-TIPS (8477).
BOGUS JOBS AND IMMIGRATION ALLEGED
This is, sadly, all too common: people look for shortcut, then fall prey to unscrupulous "consultants" who are unlicensed and make outlandish promises.
Advice to all applicants: hire a competent, experienced lawyer. Good legal representation costs money but in the end, it saves headaches.
Man charged for running bogus immigration and employment agency - thestar.com
Man charged for running bogus immigration and employment agency
Published On Thu Apr 21
Liem Vu
Staff Reporter
A 46-year-old man is facing charges for allegedly running a fraudulent business that targeted prospective immigrants searching for employment and citizenship in Canada.
Police said the bogus business was run from August 2009 to September 2010 and targeted people hoping to bring over friends and family from the Philippines.
The man offered job opportunities and immigration possibilities to people at a cost of $1,000 per person.
Clients faced months-long delays and were given numerous excuses explaining why the agency could not get the proper immigration documents, said police.
Marion Navalta Valdez, of Toronto, faces three counts of fraud over $5,000 and seven counts of fraud under $5,000.
Police suspect there may be more victims.
Anyone with more information is being urged to contact police at 416-808-7300 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers 416-222-TIPS (8477).
Advice to all applicants: hire a competent, experienced lawyer. Good legal representation costs money but in the end, it saves headaches.
Man charged for running bogus immigration and employment agency - thestar.com
Man charged for running bogus immigration and employment agency
Published On Thu Apr 21
Liem Vu
Staff Reporter
A 46-year-old man is facing charges for allegedly running a fraudulent business that targeted prospective immigrants searching for employment and citizenship in Canada.
Police said the bogus business was run from August 2009 to September 2010 and targeted people hoping to bring over friends and family from the Philippines.
The man offered job opportunities and immigration possibilities to people at a cost of $1,000 per person.
Clients faced months-long delays and were given numerous excuses explaining why the agency could not get the proper immigration documents, said police.
Marion Navalta Valdez, of Toronto, faces three counts of fraud over $5,000 and seven counts of fraud under $5,000.
Police suspect there may be more victims.
Anyone with more information is being urged to contact police at 416-808-7300 or anonymously at Crime Stoppers 416-222-TIPS (8477).
Thursday, April 21, 2011
ONTARIO COMPLAINS ABOUT FEDERAL IMMIGRATION POLICIES
I think Premier McGuinty ( a liberal) needs to be more proactive in creating a positive taxation and entrepreneurial environment in Ontario so potential skilled immigrants can settle in the province, rather than complaining about other provinces. Immigrants will go where the Jobs are....and sadly that is no longer in Ontario.
Federal immigration policies give Ontario fewer skilled workers, McGuinty says - The Globe and Mail
Federal immigration policies give Ontario fewer skilled workers, McGuinty says - The Globe and Mail
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
CRIMINAL WITH 76 CONVICTIONS FIGHTS TO STAY
The better question is how can anyone even possibly accumulate 76 criminal convictions? This is absurd.
Career criminal fights deportation Toronto & GTA News Toronto Sun
Career criminal fights deportation
TOM GODFREY, Toronto Sun
First posted: Monday, April 18, 2011 5:08:23 EDT PM
TORONTO - A deportee-turned-refugee who racked up a record-setting 76 criminal convictions in Canada is fighting tooth-and-nail through the courts to stay here.
Immigration officials were before the Federal Court of Canada in a bid to turf out Walford Uriah Steer, 39, of Toronto, who was sponsored to Canada from Jamaica in 1993 by a parent.
Steer began breaking the law months after his arrival and was deported in 1999 for criminal offences that included three assaults, according to documents filed to the federal court.
He snuck back into Canada in March 2000 and filed a refugee claim that was accepted by an Immigration and Refugee Board in June 2003, documents show.
Police believe he may have returned to Canada by using a fake identity.
He was granted refugee status because board members believed Steer would be killed if he was sent back to Jamaica.
Steer “amassed 76 convictions in Canada, nine of them for violence,” court was told. He was so violent that he was deemed a “present and future danger to the Canadian public” by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney in August 2010.
Steer was in and out of prison and his sentences were usually for less than three-months each time.
He tried to obtain permanent resident status in Canada but was rejected due to his lengthy criminal record.
An urgent motion was filed by immigration officials on April 6 to prevent Steer from being released from jail. He has been detained since August 2010 and was about to be freed.
Court heard Steer has been fighting a deportation order since March 2006. He was released in June on a $5,000 bond and on the condition he report weekly. He was re-arrested in 2010.
Court heard Steer repeatedly refused to sign documents to be deported back to Jamaica.
“The respondent continued his criminal behaviour upon returning to Canada,” Judge Danièle Tremblay-Lamer said last week.
Tremblay-Lamer quashed an order for Steer to be released so he can be removed from Canada.
Toronto immigration lawyers contacted by the Toronto Sun said they’ve never heard of a deportee facing removal for 76 criminal convictions.
No date has been set for Steer’s removal from Canada.
Steer’s record includes:
-Nine convictions for violence
-Three convictions for assault
-Two for assaulting a peace officer
-Four theft convictions
-Two for break and entry
-Four for fraud convictions
Career criminal fights deportation Toronto & GTA News Toronto Sun
Career criminal fights deportation
TOM GODFREY, Toronto Sun
First posted: Monday, April 18, 2011 5:08:23 EDT PM
TORONTO - A deportee-turned-refugee who racked up a record-setting 76 criminal convictions in Canada is fighting tooth-and-nail through the courts to stay here.
Immigration officials were before the Federal Court of Canada in a bid to turf out Walford Uriah Steer, 39, of Toronto, who was sponsored to Canada from Jamaica in 1993 by a parent.
Steer began breaking the law months after his arrival and was deported in 1999 for criminal offences that included three assaults, according to documents filed to the federal court.
He snuck back into Canada in March 2000 and filed a refugee claim that was accepted by an Immigration and Refugee Board in June 2003, documents show.
Police believe he may have returned to Canada by using a fake identity.
He was granted refugee status because board members believed Steer would be killed if he was sent back to Jamaica.
Steer “amassed 76 convictions in Canada, nine of them for violence,” court was told. He was so violent that he was deemed a “present and future danger to the Canadian public” by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney in August 2010.
Steer was in and out of prison and his sentences were usually for less than three-months each time.
He tried to obtain permanent resident status in Canada but was rejected due to his lengthy criminal record.
An urgent motion was filed by immigration officials on April 6 to prevent Steer from being released from jail. He has been detained since August 2010 and was about to be freed.
Court heard Steer has been fighting a deportation order since March 2006. He was released in June on a $5,000 bond and on the condition he report weekly. He was re-arrested in 2010.
Court heard Steer repeatedly refused to sign documents to be deported back to Jamaica.
“The respondent continued his criminal behaviour upon returning to Canada,” Judge Danièle Tremblay-Lamer said last week.
Tremblay-Lamer quashed an order for Steer to be released so he can be removed from Canada.
Toronto immigration lawyers contacted by the Toronto Sun said they’ve never heard of a deportee facing removal for 76 criminal convictions.
No date has been set for Steer’s removal from Canada.
Steer’s record includes:
-Nine convictions for violence
-Three convictions for assault
-Two for assaulting a peace officer
-Four theft convictions
-Two for break and entry
-Four for fraud convictions
Monday, April 18, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
US DEBATE OVER EDUCATION FOR ILLEGALS
Very interesting debate on the implications of allowing illegal aliens to enjoy discounted tuition. Maryland moves closer to extending tuition breaks to illegal immigrants - The Washington Post
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
SERGIO R. KARAS SPEAKS AT ABA CONFERENCE IN WASHINGTON D.C.
I was honored to co-Chair session at the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of International law Spring meeting in Washington D.C. last week, on the topic of cross-border business immigration.
ASYLUM SHOPPING MUST BE STOPPED
See story below.
Game plan for asylum-seekers who want to move around the world? when you make a refugee claim in the US and you do not like the result, get into a trunk, avoid detection, and have the taxpayers pay for your costs, hearings, etc. while you try to dramatize your case in the media to garner sympathy? Not unusual....unfortunately.
Lesson: reform the system now! Enter surreptitiously and and be automatically detained and denied access to the system, welfare, legal aid, etc. the system should only be available to those who present themselves upfront and do not play games. Asylum shoppers need not enjoy our support, those who are in refugee camps and have no means to escape should receive our attention, not those who "shop" for a country around the world to get into surreptitiously. And prosecute the facilitators who transport people! People-smuggling endangers our national security. There should be zero tolerance.
Asylum shoppers who hire smugglers and willingly break the law are insulting legitimate refugees who live in fear in dangerous places, and patiently wait in line for an opportunity to be resettled.
Refugee claimant left baby in U.S.
Refugee claimant left baby in U.S.
By Hugh Adami, Ottawa Citizen
April 13, 2011
Floresha Yucel is heartbroken and desperate, but realizes she “can only take one step at a time” in the hope of being reunited with her family, including her baby boy.
Yucel, 33, arrived in Ottawa on March 27, after being smuggled into Canada, from Detroit to Windsor, in the trunk of a car. She is staying at her sister’s downtown apartment.
Yucel had travelled by bus overnight to Detroit from New Windsor, a town in southeast New York, where she lived. She was fleeing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which she says advised her weeks earlier that she faced deportation to her native Albania. She was ordered to attend a hearing in Manhattan on March 17.
Yucel says she spent a decade in the United States. Her Ottawa immigration lawyer, Rezaur Rahman, says it appears she was told she had to leave after her application for refugee status was finally rejected. Yucel says she was given a social-security number when she arrived in the U.S., which allowed her to work. She says she had various jobs, often holding down two at a time and working seven days a week.
When she got on the Detroit-bound bus on March 26, she left behind her husband, Muiat Yucel, whom she married three years ago, their seven-month-old baby, Kubilay, who is an American citizen, and another son, 18, and daughter, 16. The latter are from a previous marriage and were born in Greece.
Yucel says the only person who knew she was coming to Ottawa was another sister, who lives near New Windsor and is taking care of her three children. Her Ottawa sister only found out when Yucel called her from Toronto. Muiat was left in the dark, too.
Yucel’s first priority was to apply for refugee status. The next was to get her husband to drive from New Windsor to Ottawa to drop off the infant, whom she was breastfeeding. There were two attempts to bring Kubilay here — the first on April 2 by his father, and another on April 9, by Yucel’s sister from New York. Canadian border guards at the Thousand Islands crossing refused entry both times.
In the most recent attempt, Yucel waited on the Canadian side for her sister to arrive with the baby. She was devastated when she realized the rendezvous would not take place. “I miss my baby so much,” she says. “My baby needs me. I need my baby.”
Yucel insists she didn’t make any prior arrangements to be smuggled into Canada. But after she broke down in a Detroit cab and the driver listened to her story, he told her “he would see what he could do.” A couple of hours later, the cabbie arrived with two men who told Yucel that for $3,500, they could take her to the Greyhound station in Windsor. “I was very scared,” says Yucel, but within minutes, she was in the trunk of a car. A few hours later, she was on a bus to Toronto. From there, she boarded another bus for Ottawa.
On Thursday, Yucel will be interviewed by Canadian immigration officials to determine whether she is eligible for an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing. If she’s turned down, she could apply for a “pre-removal risk assessment.” That would determine whether she faces any serious danger, including death and persecution, if she ends up in Albania. She says if she is deported there as the U.S. wants, blood feuds — a centuries-old horror in the Balkan nation — would put her life in danger. She says her Ottawa sister, who was deported to Albania from New York in 2005, was raped and repeatedly threatened by in-laws before she moved to Canada in 2008 and was given refugee status.
“If you only knew what my sister went through,” says Yucel. Blood feuds became prevalent again after communism’s fall two decades ago, sending many Albanians back to the customary laws of the ancient tribes.
Rahman, who is providing his legal services to Yucel for free, says he will also be working on having the baby reunited with his mother on compassionate grounds. Yucel says she also hopes her two older children will eventually be allowed into Canada.
Even if she is ultimately kicked out, it would take months, especially if she gets a hearing. Cases before the board take an average 22 months to be settled. Rejected applications can be appealed to the Federal Court of Canada.
When Muiat Yucel tried bringing his son into Canada almost two weeks ago, he was turned away after being questioned for several hours. He says border guards were suspicious of a number of things: How his wife got into the country; whether he was using the baby as a ruse to settle in Canada illegally; and the purpose of a lengthy stay in Iraq recently. (He works for an American company involved in foreign contracts.)
The Turkish-born Muiat says he has lived in the U.S. for 20 years and has a Green card, which gives him permanent residency. He says he expects to become an American citizen soon.
Whether that will help him sponsor his wife so she can return to the U.S. wasn’t clear Tuesday. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration officials could not be reached for comment.
Is something bothering you? Please contact thepubliccitizen@ottawacitizen.com
Game plan for asylum-seekers who want to move around the world? when you make a refugee claim in the US and you do not like the result, get into a trunk, avoid detection, and have the taxpayers pay for your costs, hearings, etc. while you try to dramatize your case in the media to garner sympathy? Not unusual....unfortunately.
Lesson: reform the system now! Enter surreptitiously and and be automatically detained and denied access to the system, welfare, legal aid, etc. the system should only be available to those who present themselves upfront and do not play games. Asylum shoppers need not enjoy our support, those who are in refugee camps and have no means to escape should receive our attention, not those who "shop" for a country around the world to get into surreptitiously. And prosecute the facilitators who transport people! People-smuggling endangers our national security. There should be zero tolerance.
Asylum shoppers who hire smugglers and willingly break the law are insulting legitimate refugees who live in fear in dangerous places, and patiently wait in line for an opportunity to be resettled.
Refugee claimant left baby in U.S.
Refugee claimant left baby in U.S.
By Hugh Adami, Ottawa Citizen
April 13, 2011
Floresha Yucel is heartbroken and desperate, but realizes she “can only take one step at a time” in the hope of being reunited with her family, including her baby boy.
Yucel, 33, arrived in Ottawa on March 27, after being smuggled into Canada, from Detroit to Windsor, in the trunk of a car. She is staying at her sister’s downtown apartment.
Yucel had travelled by bus overnight to Detroit from New Windsor, a town in southeast New York, where she lived. She was fleeing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which she says advised her weeks earlier that she faced deportation to her native Albania. She was ordered to attend a hearing in Manhattan on March 17.
Yucel says she spent a decade in the United States. Her Ottawa immigration lawyer, Rezaur Rahman, says it appears she was told she had to leave after her application for refugee status was finally rejected. Yucel says she was given a social-security number when she arrived in the U.S., which allowed her to work. She says she had various jobs, often holding down two at a time and working seven days a week.
When she got on the Detroit-bound bus on March 26, she left behind her husband, Muiat Yucel, whom she married three years ago, their seven-month-old baby, Kubilay, who is an American citizen, and another son, 18, and daughter, 16. The latter are from a previous marriage and were born in Greece.
Yucel says the only person who knew she was coming to Ottawa was another sister, who lives near New Windsor and is taking care of her three children. Her Ottawa sister only found out when Yucel called her from Toronto. Muiat was left in the dark, too.
Yucel’s first priority was to apply for refugee status. The next was to get her husband to drive from New Windsor to Ottawa to drop off the infant, whom she was breastfeeding. There were two attempts to bring Kubilay here — the first on April 2 by his father, and another on April 9, by Yucel’s sister from New York. Canadian border guards at the Thousand Islands crossing refused entry both times.
In the most recent attempt, Yucel waited on the Canadian side for her sister to arrive with the baby. She was devastated when she realized the rendezvous would not take place. “I miss my baby so much,” she says. “My baby needs me. I need my baby.”
Yucel insists she didn’t make any prior arrangements to be smuggled into Canada. But after she broke down in a Detroit cab and the driver listened to her story, he told her “he would see what he could do.” A couple of hours later, the cabbie arrived with two men who told Yucel that for $3,500, they could take her to the Greyhound station in Windsor. “I was very scared,” says Yucel, but within minutes, she was in the trunk of a car. A few hours later, she was on a bus to Toronto. From there, she boarded another bus for Ottawa.
On Thursday, Yucel will be interviewed by Canadian immigration officials to determine whether she is eligible for an Immigration and Refugee Board hearing. If she’s turned down, she could apply for a “pre-removal risk assessment.” That would determine whether she faces any serious danger, including death and persecution, if she ends up in Albania. She says if she is deported there as the U.S. wants, blood feuds — a centuries-old horror in the Balkan nation — would put her life in danger. She says her Ottawa sister, who was deported to Albania from New York in 2005, was raped and repeatedly threatened by in-laws before she moved to Canada in 2008 and was given refugee status.
“If you only knew what my sister went through,” says Yucel. Blood feuds became prevalent again after communism’s fall two decades ago, sending many Albanians back to the customary laws of the ancient tribes.
Rahman, who is providing his legal services to Yucel for free, says he will also be working on having the baby reunited with his mother on compassionate grounds. Yucel says she also hopes her two older children will eventually be allowed into Canada.
Even if she is ultimately kicked out, it would take months, especially if she gets a hearing. Cases before the board take an average 22 months to be settled. Rejected applications can be appealed to the Federal Court of Canada.
When Muiat Yucel tried bringing his son into Canada almost two weeks ago, he was turned away after being questioned for several hours. He says border guards were suspicious of a number of things: How his wife got into the country; whether he was using the baby as a ruse to settle in Canada illegally; and the purpose of a lengthy stay in Iraq recently. (He works for an American company involved in foreign contracts.)
The Turkish-born Muiat says he has lived in the U.S. for 20 years and has a Green card, which gives him permanent residency. He says he expects to become an American citizen soon.
Whether that will help him sponsor his wife so she can return to the U.S. wasn’t clear Tuesday. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration officials could not be reached for comment.
Is something bothering you? Please contact thepubliccitizen@ottawacitizen.com
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
CONVICTED IN THE US, SEEKING REFUGE IN CANADA
Another one who thinks that Canada should be a dumping ground for people convicted of serious offences in the United States....we need reform now!
Florida fugitive claims refugee status in Canada
Florida fugitive claims refugee status in Canada
Sunday, April 10, 2011
IMMIGRATION POLITICS AS USUAL
Conservatives are trying the same tactics that worked well for the Liberals for so many decades... AFP: Conservatives woo Toronto's Asian vote
Friday, April 8, 2011
IGNATIEFF'S WIFE NOT CANADIAN CITIZEN
How ironic! I suspect she applied for citizenship only to further her husband's political ambitions. Interestingly, the article below has no timeline as to when she obtained residency in Canada, how long she was absent from Canada, and when she was actually eligible to apply. This requires further investigation by the media. At present, Ignatieff's wife can't cast vote for husband
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL LOST SENSITIVE FILES
See this Toronto Star story.....
Secret cabinet records lost in Ottawa parking lot for a month
April 03, 2011
Dean Beeby
OTTAWA—Secret cabinet records and sensitive legal briefs were lost for more than a month in a downtown parking arcade, newly disclosed documents show.
The confidential material from Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's briefing book was stolen from the locked car of a senior government official after a “breach of standard procedure.”
The incident, never made public, occurred soon after 2008 election, when Kenney was appointed to the post.
An immigration official left the secret material unattended in his car on Nov. 28 after parking at a street meter and heading to a meeting.
Someone smashed the rear window and pulled a black nylon bag containing the sensitive briefing binder from the back seat.
The bag contained other department material, including an internal personnel assessment of the official. Also missing were two security passcards.
“There is no doubt that if that book falls into wrong hands, there is possibility of harm to the department,” says one internal email, written soon after the official reported the incident to police.
Documents outlining the breach of cabinet confidentiality were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
Immigration officials drew up a damage assessment and prepared draft media lines in case word of the lost documents ever became public.
A lot attendant later discovered the bag with the lost documents behind a concrete pillar at a nearby parking arcade.
The attendant inspected the bag Jan. 5 and found the business card of the owner. He turned the find over to a department security official later that day.
The bag, caked with winter salt, had been found in a dark area where there was evidence of drug and alcohol use, including a can of beer.
“The thief assumed that the black nylon bag possibly contained a laptop computer which could have been liquidated,” says a security assessment, speculating on motives.
“After retreating to the area mentioned above to examine the spoils of his deed, his efforts revealed only documents which to the perpetrator were worthless and the complete contents were abandoned on the spot.”
Nothing was missing from the bag, and Peter Raymond, manager of security administration, therefore concluded the “risk of compromise” was “low.”
The senior official responsible for the loss “has been counselled on the appropriate treatment for sensitive docs and warned to take more care,” an internal email says.
Richard Fadden, now head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, was deputy minister at Citizenship and Immigration at the time, and was briefed on the theft, as was the Privy Council Office, the home of the federal cabinet.
“This was a breach of standard procedure and was an error,” says a draft media release.
The briefing-book volume was one of 35 tightly controlled copies, one of which Kenney received Oct. 30 on his appointment as minister.
A spokeswoman declined to comment on the department's security protocols, or on any actions taken against the employee, citing privacy rules.
Kelli Fraser says Citizenship and Immigration conducts regular security awareness training and holds a “security awareness week” once a year, which includes courses.
“Furthermore, in the 2011-2012 fiscal year, an online course on security awareness will be mandatory for all CIC employees,” she said.
Fraser declined to provide further information about the contents of the briefing binder.
The parking-lot incident is among several in recent years in which confidential federal documents have disappeared:
• Last November, a thief in Montreal broke into the unattended locked car of Mark Carney, the Bank of Canada governor, and took briefing notes and staff reports. A spokesman said the material contained no market-moving information.
• In 2009, sensitive documents about Canada's nuclear industry were left behind in an Ottawa television studio. The briefing material was for then-natural resources minister Lisa Raitt, who accepted the resignation of an aide over the incident.
• Maxime Bernier resigned as foreign affairs minister in 2008 after leaving sensitive NATO documents at the home of his former girlfriend. They had sat there for more than a month.
• And earlier in 2008, a sheaf of blueprints for a military counterterrorism unit were found stuffed in a trash bin in downtown Ottawa.
Secret cabinet records lost in Ottawa parking lot for a month
April 03, 2011
Dean Beeby
OTTAWA—Secret cabinet records and sensitive legal briefs were lost for more than a month in a downtown parking arcade, newly disclosed documents show.
The confidential material from Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's briefing book was stolen from the locked car of a senior government official after a “breach of standard procedure.”
The incident, never made public, occurred soon after 2008 election, when Kenney was appointed to the post.
An immigration official left the secret material unattended in his car on Nov. 28 after parking at a street meter and heading to a meeting.
Someone smashed the rear window and pulled a black nylon bag containing the sensitive briefing binder from the back seat.
The bag contained other department material, including an internal personnel assessment of the official. Also missing were two security passcards.
“There is no doubt that if that book falls into wrong hands, there is possibility of harm to the department,” says one internal email, written soon after the official reported the incident to police.
Documents outlining the breach of cabinet confidentiality were obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
Immigration officials drew up a damage assessment and prepared draft media lines in case word of the lost documents ever became public.
A lot attendant later discovered the bag with the lost documents behind a concrete pillar at a nearby parking arcade.
The attendant inspected the bag Jan. 5 and found the business card of the owner. He turned the find over to a department security official later that day.
The bag, caked with winter salt, had been found in a dark area where there was evidence of drug and alcohol use, including a can of beer.
“The thief assumed that the black nylon bag possibly contained a laptop computer which could have been liquidated,” says a security assessment, speculating on motives.
“After retreating to the area mentioned above to examine the spoils of his deed, his efforts revealed only documents which to the perpetrator were worthless and the complete contents were abandoned on the spot.”
Nothing was missing from the bag, and Peter Raymond, manager of security administration, therefore concluded the “risk of compromise” was “low.”
The senior official responsible for the loss “has been counselled on the appropriate treatment for sensitive docs and warned to take more care,” an internal email says.
Richard Fadden, now head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, was deputy minister at Citizenship and Immigration at the time, and was briefed on the theft, as was the Privy Council Office, the home of the federal cabinet.
“This was a breach of standard procedure and was an error,” says a draft media release.
The briefing-book volume was one of 35 tightly controlled copies, one of which Kenney received Oct. 30 on his appointment as minister.
A spokeswoman declined to comment on the department's security protocols, or on any actions taken against the employee, citing privacy rules.
Kelli Fraser says Citizenship and Immigration conducts regular security awareness training and holds a “security awareness week” once a year, which includes courses.
“Furthermore, in the 2011-2012 fiscal year, an online course on security awareness will be mandatory for all CIC employees,” she said.
Fraser declined to provide further information about the contents of the briefing binder.
The parking-lot incident is among several in recent years in which confidential federal documents have disappeared:
• Last November, a thief in Montreal broke into the unattended locked car of Mark Carney, the Bank of Canada governor, and took briefing notes and staff reports. A spokesman said the material contained no market-moving information.
• In 2009, sensitive documents about Canada's nuclear industry were left behind in an Ottawa television studio. The briefing material was for then-natural resources minister Lisa Raitt, who accepted the resignation of an aide over the incident.
• Maxime Bernier resigned as foreign affairs minister in 2008 after leaving sensitive NATO documents at the home of his former girlfriend. They had sat there for more than a month.
• And earlier in 2008, a sheaf of blueprints for a military counterterrorism unit were found stuffed in a trash bin in downtown Ottawa.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
HUMAN SMUGGLING DEBATE HEATS UP
This is ridiculous. Human smuggling is an international crime that must be stopped, it undermines the rule of law, it victimizes people, and enriches criminal organizations and terrorist groups. The critics never heard of the Constitution that prescribes "peace, order and good government"?. this is just pandering, nothing else. Conservatives take heat on human smuggling. - The Globe and Mail
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