CRIMINALS TO FIND IT HARDER TO STAY IN CANADA

This report has quietly been released, but few details are available. It seems to be directed towards the public perception, many times real, that those convicted in Canada of serious crimes manage to use the IAD and various judicial reviews to prolong their stay in Canada and thwart deportation orders.


Feds to close loophole allowing criminal newcomers to stay in Canada- Politics - Canoe.ca

Feds to close loophole allowing criminal newcomers to stay in Canada

By Kris Sims, Parliamentary Bureau

(DARREN BROWN/QMI AGENCY)

OTTAWA -- The federal government is cracking down on immigrants and refugees who break Canada's laws.
People who are convicted of crimes after being granted landed immigrant status, or sheltered as a refugee, are usually ordered deported back to their countries of origin.
However, if the sentences were less than two years, the crooks were allowed to apply to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) and get the deportation reversed.
The feds want to put a stop to it and QMI Agency has learned they will introduce legislation on Wednesday.
"We're not going to tolerate a revolving door for foreign criminals going in and out of jail, abusing the justice system, and finding refuge in Canada," a government source told QMI Agency. "The idea is about bringing about changes that protect Canadians by making sure that criminals stay out of the country."
Government sources say judges would often give two years-less-a-day sentences to immigrant and refugee convicts, knowing it gave them a chance to stay in Canada.

Over the weekend, a career criminal who had a lengthy international rap sheet including massive fraud, counterfeiting passports and misleading law enforcement about terrorist threats was finally deported back to his native Pakistan. Michael John Hamdani had used the IAD to stay in Canada, even though he was convicted of his first crime in 1995 - one year after arriving in Canada and being granted refugee status.
The feds have been aggressively pursuing foreign criminals. Last year, the Canada Border Services Agency released a "most wanted" list of 1,400 thugs who had been convicted of serious crimes including murder, rape, aggravated assault and massive fraud.