Canada Border Services Agency - CBSA, News

Canadian Border Services New Security Screening Measures

May 2, 2016 nkic

Canada’s border services officers are identifying and detaining more people with outstanding arrest warrants at Canadian border crossings after making changes to the way travelers are checked for security risks.

Officer who work on the front lines of Canada’s borders were given access to police information late last year, after a CBC News investigation revealed they couldn’t screen travellers against Canadian police records, such as outstanding warrants.

New numbers obtained by CBC News show that in the first month after the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database was introduced at primary inspection points, it flagged 1,800 cases in which travellers had outstanding warrants against them.

While some warrants were for minor infractions, such as outstanding fines, a quarter of the referrals were related to criminal offences and resulted in “further action,” according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Arrests across Canada

In some cases, they were people who had eluded police for some time.

In March, police records contained in the CPIC database helped border services officers at Toronto Pearson International Airport identify a suspect in a fatal arson in Woodstock, Ont. Jeyakumar Shanmuganathan, 43, had allegedly fled Canada in 2011, but when he tried to re-enter the country after a flight from Sri Lanka on March 2, he was flagged and arrested.

At the same Toronto airport last month, a woman travelling from Jamaica was flagged by CPIC while attempting to enter Canada. Police said she had failed to appear for fraud charges in Barrie, Ont., in 1996, and avoided authorities for 20 years.

Similarly, border services officers at a New Brunswick border crossing in January were able to identify and arrest a suspect in a series of sexual assaults dating back to the 1980s.

Heidi Illingworth, executive director of the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime, told CBC News she expects more arrests could result from the increased screening resources.

In an email, she wrote, “Victims often yearn for justice even many years after the crime so if the authorities can finally try to hold someone accountable for the harm they’ve caused — that is a good thing.”

Officers who do the primary inspection of travelers at Canadian borders have now had access to the CPIC database since November 2015.

The change came after CBC News reported on a case where a man charged with sexual assault in Canada was able to re-enter the country without being arrested at the border.

A further investigation revealed that although U.S. border services officers used Canada’s national police database to help screen all travellers into that country, officers at primary inspection points in Canada did not have access to it.

Border officers pleased

Canadian officers working the front lines of border checkpoints could access information about people being sought by immigration authorities, or those with lost, stolen or fraudulent passports. But until last year, other databases, such as CPIC, were only made available to officers at a secondary screening where more thorough checks are conducted.

That meant that a person coming into Canada had to first be deemed suspicious by a front-line border agent in order to get fully screened against Canadian police warrants by another agent at a secondary checkpoint. The idea was to save time at the border.

After lobbying the government to make the CPIC tool available at all levels of border inspection, the head of the union representing Canada’s border services officers says his members are pleased with the changes.

Jean-Pierre Fortin, of the Customs and Immigration Union, said the old system meant that in some cases, front-line services officers “didn’t have a clue” about the identities of the people they were letting into the country.

Now, with full CPIC access, he said, border services officers are “way more efficient” in ensuring “that if there’s an outstanding warrant, immediately, there’s action that’s being taken.”

Senate calls for more screening

This new screening system arrived years after a Nigerian priest, who had been charged with sexual assault in Canada, was allowed back into the country, unhindered, despite an outstanding Canadian warrant for his arrest.

As CBC News reported last year, Father Anthony Onyenagada is accused of assaulting a female parishioner at a southern Ontario Catholic church he visited in 2004.

By the time charges were laid against him and a warrant was issued for his arrest, Onyenagada had left the country. Police assured the woman that the priest would be arrested if he ever tried to re-enter Canada.

But nearly 10 years later, the woman found out that he had returned and left the country again, without being arrested.

The woman complained to the CBSA, but the agency has offered no apology for allowing Onyenagada through the border.

A 2015 Senate report, released before the CBSA changes took effect, said that around 44,000 people were in Canada illegally last year, and that in some cases, the government had lost track of them. The report called for more rigorous screening of visitors and immigrants to the country.

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By Sarah Bridge, John Lancaster, Jennifer Fowler, CBC News

Canadian Immigration, News

Proposed Changes to Canada’s Citizenship Act

May 2, 2016 nkic

An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act has now been introduced to Parliament. The changes in the proposed legislation would provide greater flexibility for applicants trying to meet the requirements for citizenship, and help immigrants obtain citizenship faster. They would also repeal provisions of the Citizenship Act that allow citizenship to be revoked from dual citizens who engage in certain acts against the national interest. Additional changes are also proposed to further enhance program integrity.

Repealing the national interest grounds for citizenship revocation

Legislative changes that came into effect in May 2015 created a new ground for citizenship revocation that allowed citizenship to be taken away from dual citizens for certain acts against the national interest of Canada. These grounds include convictions of terrorism, high treason, treason or spying offences, depending on the sentence received, or for membership in an armed force or organized armed group engaged in armed conflict with Canada. The Bill repeals these new grounds. All Canadians who commit crimes should face the consequences of their actions through the Canadian justice system.

The ability to revoke citizenship where it was obtained by false representation, by fraud or by knowingly concealing material circumstances will remain in place. The Minister would continue to have authority to revoke citizenship in basic fraud cases, such as identity and residence fraud (which constitute the majority of cases), and the Federal Court would continue to have authority to revoke citizenship in cases where the fraud is in relation to concealing serious inadmissibilities concerning security, human or international rights violations, war crimes, and organized criminality.

Repealing the intent to reside provision

Since June 2015, adult applicants must declare on their citizenship applications that they intend to continue to reside in Canada if granted citizenship. The provision created concern among some new Canadians, who feared their citizenship could be revoked in the future if they moved outside of Canada. The Government is proposing to repeal this provision. All Canadians are free to move outside Canada. This is a right guaranteed in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Reducing the length of time someone must be physically present in Canada to qualify for Citizenship

To help immigrants achieve citizenship more quickly, the Government is proposing to reduce the time required to be spent in Canada for citizenship for adults to three years (1095 days) within the five years before applying for citizenship. This will mean applicants can apply one year sooner than they can now. This offers greater flexibility for immigrants who may need to travel outside of Canada for various personal or work reasons.

Currently, the Citizenship Act requires applicants to be physically present in Canada for four years (1,460 days) within the six years immediately before applying for citizenship.

Allowing time in Canada before Permanent Residency to count toward the physical presence requirement

Under the Citizenship Act, people cannot count time they spent in Canada before becoming a permanent resident towards meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship.

The changes in the new Bill would let non-permanent resident time count toward the new three year physical presence requirement for citizenship, for up to one year. Under this change, each day that a person is authorized to be in Canada as a temporary resident or protected person before becoming a permanent resident could be counted as a half-day toward meeting the physical presence requirement for citizenship.

These changes support the Government’s goal of making it easier for immigrants to build successful lives in Canada, reuniting their families and contributing to the economic success of all Canadians. The time credit will also encourage skilled individuals to come to Canada to study or work, and benefits groups like protected persons and parents and grandparents on visitors’ visas.

Eliminating the 183 days of physical presence requirement

The Bill proposes to remove the supplemental physical presence requirement, as keeping it would not allow applicants to benefit from the new non-permanent resident time credit. Applicants would no longer need to be physically present for 183 days in Canada during each of four calendar years that are within the six years immediately before applying for citizenship.

Amending the age range for language and knowledge requirements

Since the first Canadian Citizenship Act in 1947, citizenship applicants have had to have an adequate knowledge of English or French, as well as knowledge of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. Previous changes to the Citizenship Act expanded the age range of applicants who must meet the language and knowledge requirements from those aged 18-54 to those aged 14-64.

The Government is proposing to return to the previous 18-54 age requirement, removing a potential barrier to citizenship for applicants in both the younger and older age groups. For younger applicants, learning English or French and having an adequate knowledge of Canada is already achieved through schooling. For the older age group, language skills and knowledge of Canada are offered through a wide range of integration services.

Adult applicants aged 18-54 would still be required to provide evidence that they understand English or French and are able to hold a short conversation about common topics, understand simple instructions, and use basic grammar. They are also required to pass a knowledge test on Canada and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.

Program Integrity Enhancements

A number of changes to further enhance program integrity are also proposed.

Conditional Sentences: Currently, the Citizenship Act prohibits a person under a probation order, on parole or incarcerated in a penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison from being granted citizenship or from counting that time towards meeting the physical presence requirements for citizenship. However, the provisions do not include conditional sentences (i.e. sentences served in the community with certain conditions) served in Canada. So currently, an applicant who is sentenced to a conditional sentence order could be granted citizenship or count that time towards meeting the physical presence requirements for citizenship. These amendments would change that. This change would apply to both new applications and those still being processed.
Maintaining requirements for citizenship until Oath taking: The Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act introduced a rule that would not allow applicants to take the oath of citizenship if they no longer met the requirements for citizenship after the decision was made. Before this change, there was no authority to prevent an applicant in that situation from taking the oath. The time between the decision and taking of the oath is typically two to three months. However, the rule only applies to applications received after June 11, 2015, when the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act came into force, and not to applications received before that date.The proposed change would require all applicants to continue to meet the requirements of citizenship until they take the Oath, regardless of when their application was received.
Ability to Seize Documents: Unlike existing authorities under the Immigration and Refugees Protection Act, citizenship officers did not have the authority to seize fraudulent documents. This Bill would change that, giving citizenship officers authority under the Citizenship Act to seize fraudulent documents provided during the administration of the Act, including during in-person interviews and hearings. This improves the ability for Citizenship officers to carry out investigations and prevent further use of fraudulent or suspected fraudulent documents.

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Canadian Immigration, News

International Students Fast Track to Canadian PR

May 2, 2016 nkic

International students studying in Canada could find themselves fast tracked to residency if they want to work in the country after graduations.

Immigration minister John McCallum confirmed that the government is looking at a number of options, including giving more points to students under the express entry programme which currently prioritises skilled workers.

“I think the best source of immigrants for Canada is international students because they know French and English, because they know Canada, because they’re educated, because they’re young. We should court them. We should encourage them to come here,” he said.

He explained that there will be changes to the way international students are assessed under the express entry programme and an announcement on what they are can be expected soon.

“Stage one, which I hope would be soon, would be to give more points to the students, and stage two, further down the road after more study, would be to do other things to improve express entry,” he added.

Meanwhile, international students planning to study in Canada this year are being reminded that they will be required to have an Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) to fly into the country.

Study permit holders from visa-exempt countries who received their permit on or before July 2015 have been required to have the document since March although they will be able to board a flight until the end of September during a leniency period.

Applicants who were issued with an initial study or work permit on or after August 2015 should have been issued automatically with an eTA along with their permit.

However, a spokesman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), pointed out that an eTA will not be automatically renewed for study permit renewal applications, so people who wish to exit and re-enter Canada by air will need to ensure that their eTA is still valid.

“If your eTA has expired, you will need to apply for a new one as soon as you can and before the eTA leniency period ends on 29 September 201,” the spokesman said.

Potential students are also being reminded that there are now new rules to reduce the potential for fraud or misuse of the student study programme aimed at protecting Canada’s international reputation for high quality education and improve the services available to genuine students.

This means that they must be studying at a designated learning institution (DLI), including institutions that are designated by provinces and territories on the basis of meeting minimum standards.

Students must be actively pursuing their studies while in Canada but full time international students enrolled at designated institutions in certain programmes can work part time off campus and full time during scheduled school breaks without a work permit.

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Canadian Immigration, News

Changes Coming Soon to the Canadian Citizenship Act

May 2, 2016 nkic

New immigrants to Canada may have an easier time qualifying for citizenship with changes coming in the next few weeks to the Citizenship Act, says Immigration Minister John McCallum.

“We are in general trying to reduce the barriers people have to overcome to become a citizen,” McCallum said in an interview on CBC News Network’s Power & Politics Thursday.

During the recent election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to repeal the Conservatives’ controversial bill C-24, also known as the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act. The bill, which became law last year, gave the government the power to remove Canadian citizenship from people convicted of terrorism, espionage or treason if they also held foreign citizenship.

But McCallum said the Liberal government has two main goals when it comes to making its changes to the Citizenship Act.

“We would make it impossible for the government to take away someone’s citizenship, and we would reduce the barriers currently in place that people have to overcome,” he said.

One of those barriers is a test to prove language proficiency in English or French. Bill C-24 expanded the age range for people required to take that test, to those aged 14 to 64 from a range of 18 to 54.

McCallum hinted the government is considering restoring the original age limit, among other changes.

“We could bring it back to [age] 54,” he said. “That’s an adjustment at the margin on the grounds that some older people coming to this country may not be fully proficient in English, although their children will be and their grandchildren certainly will be.”

“It’s one of the things we are potentially considering,” he added.

But McCallum made clear the government has no plans to scrap the language testing.

“I think you could call it tweaks to the system, and certainly not ditching the system.”

As for when Canadians can expect an announcement from the government, McCallum said to be on watch “in the coming days and weeks, but not very many weeks.”

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