Fed Gov't to reconsider revoking citizenship for falsifying application documents

[rugatika]

Looks like fraudulently applying for citizenship will soon be a good way to get into Canada. Wish I was making this up or that it was a piece from "The Onion"...but it's not. It's real. I'm sure it has nothing to do with recent revelation that a certain MP and her family were found to have gained entry into, and citizenship in Canada with falsified documents.


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle32254296/




Immigration Minister John McCallum says he is open to granting a moratorium on the revocation of citizenship from Canadians who misrepresented themselves in their applications, an issue that has been thrust into the spotlight by the circumstances of cabinet minister Maryam Monsef’s citizenship.

Mr. McCallum’s comments come a week after the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association and the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers filed a legal action with the Federal Court asking the government to put a stop to all revocations until it could fix a law that allows citizenship to be stripped without a hearing.

“I will consider that moratorium. I won’t rule it out unconditionally,” Mr. McCallum told Senate Question Period on Tuesday. “What I am saying is that we would welcome a reform to the system.”

While Ottawa is considering the moratorium on revocations, the government says it is committed to eventually reinstating the right to a hearing for Canadians who face losing their citizenship because they misrepresented themselves in their citizenship and permanent residency applications.

[Stinky Buffalo]

They revoked Oberlander's citizenship like what, three times now?

Looks like he got a reprieve this past summer.

[midgetwaiter]

Must be nice to live in black and white land, for the rest of us life gets more complicated.

In researching our family history my uncle found some interesting documents. My grandmother arrived here as a little girl in the late 1920s from Romainia having fleed soviet instigated uprisings, eventually settling with her family in Drumheller. I have her immigration documents, they list her place of birth as Romania but the village is smack in the middle of disputed territory. At the time this was going on:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatarbunary_uprising

So technically by the time she was applying for citizenship the village was part
of the Ukraine but when she got her citizenship in 1936 it was Moldova / USSR. So what the hell exactly do you put on the form? What the hell do I put the form for my employer's background check now 90 years later, etc.

As I understand it the minister you accuse of "falsifying" her citizenship application found herself in a similar situation, she was born in a refugee camp a few km over the border during a conflict, something she was not told by her family. Is it "falsifying" something if you honestly didn't know?

Yeah we need to check up on these things and yes if someone is found to be internationally deceptive there should be concequences. However if you can't see the difference between lying and situations like I've described then you might need to back the Delta-Bravo knob off a touch.

[densa44]

They let Lord Conrad Black in and he was a convicted felon.

[Okotokian]

Blows. Going to change a valid process in place for decades to protect one darling cabinet minister. Disgusting.

Now I might be willing to entertain legislation going forward that might protect children who didn't lie (their parents did) who are now grown adults and law-abiding citizens, but I wouldn't make it retroactive.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by densa44

They let Lord Conrad Black in and he was a convicted felon.

Yes, and he renounced his citizenship. Should have left him in England. But Connie was born here.

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

Blows. Going to change a valid process in place for decades to protect one darling cabinet minister. Disgusting.

Nope, not even close.

The conservatives changed it just a few years ago. Modifying the new provisions was a Liberal campaign promise and they committed to it well before Maryam Monsef’s situation. The problem isn't revoking citizenship, it's the fact that it's done WITHOUT any hearing or process.

[KGB]

Why are you guys so surprised? What, you never heard the expression " you scratch my back -I scratch yours"? They are a simple bunch of crooks who are taking advantage of the government coffins. They will never punish one of their own.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by midgetwaiter

Nope, not even close.

The conservatives changed it just a few years ago. Modifying the new provisions was a Liberal campaign promise and they committed to it well before Maryam Monsef’s situation. The problem isn't revoking citizenship, it's the fact that it's done WITHOUT any hearing or process.

Liberals didn't commit to stopping citizenship loss for immigration fraud. They haven't even gone back to the old judicial review system. They just committed to keeping and protecting terrorists.

"Somewhat surprisingly, the Liberals are also maintaining the Conservative changes to how the Government of Canada revokes the citizenship of Canadians who obtained their citizenship through fraud. Prior to Bill C-24, the Federal Court of Canada had to agree with what is now the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) that a citizen had obtained their citizenship through fraud. Then, the Governor in Council (which is the Governor General acting on the advice of the federal cabinet) was responsible for actually revoking the individual’s Canadian citizenship. Bill C-24 streamlined the process so that a single IRCC bureaucrat would both determine whether there was fraud and whether citizenship would be revoked. No hearing is required and citizenship revocation proceedings for fraud are generally now conducted by mail. The only recourse for citizens who lose their citizenship is to apply for judicial review, where they may not submit any new evidence that they did not provide to IRCC. Judicial review only occurs after they have already lost their citizenship. There are currently over 10,000 revocation investigations and proceedings underway, and these provisions of Bill C-24 are the subject of numerous constitutional challenges under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter”). Because the Liberals have maintained the revocation provisions they will presumably defend them in court, and own any Charter defeats, should they occur."

http://policyoptions.irpp.org/2016/0...tizenship-act/

They only changed their minds once their Minister got caught.

[fargineyesore]

Originally Posted by midgetwaiter

Nope, not even close.

The conservatives changed it just a few years ago. Modifying the new provisions was a Liberal campaign promise and they committed to it well before Maryam Monsef’s situation. The problem isn't revoking citizenship, it's the fact that it's done WITHOUT any hearing or process.

They are still revoking and deporting people right now, they sure didn't talk about amending it until one of their caucus was outed. You don't see the stink here?

[rugatika]

Does a regular Cdn citizen get the same priveleges in the eyes of the law as a politician? (rhetorical)

A 19-year-old Concordia University student has been told she will be stripped of her Canadian identity, a decade after the woman’s mother allegedly made misrepresentations when applying for their citizenship.

The case has “compelling parallels” to the situation involving Canada’s Minister of Democratic Institutions, Maryam Monsef, according the student’s lawyer. She wonders if government authorities will investigate Monsef’s family history and apply the law with the same force and vigour as it did with her client.



http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...tuation-lawyer

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by rugatika

Does a regular Cdn citizen get the same priveleges in the eyes of the law as a politician? (rhetorical)

A 19-year-old Concordia University student has been told she will be stripped of her Canadian identity, a decade after the woman’s mother allegedly made misrepresentations when applying for their citizenship.

The case has “compelling parallels” to the situation involving Canada’s Minister of Democratic Institutions, Maryam Monsef, according the student’s lawyer. She wonders if government authorities will investigate Monsef’s family history and apply the law with the same force and vigour as it did with her client.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...tuation-lawyer

Compelling parallels??? It's exactly the same!

[walking buffalo]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

Compelling parallels??? It's exactly the same!

It's completely Different!

One is a student, the other is a Liberal Cabinet Minister.

[DiabeticKripple]

if the liberals do anything but strip her citzenship, or deport her, they are corrupt as can be.

[Redfrog]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

if the liberals do anything but strip her citzenship, or deport her, they are corrupt as can be.

Quelle Surprise!!!!!!

[rugatika]

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/10/07...release-papers

According to Fournier, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act establishes claims based on a “well-founded fear of persecution.”

Each refugee application is considered on a case by case basis, but, he noted, it would have helped the Monsef family’s case to claim they were from Afghanistan rather than Iran.

“The facts are that at the time the Monsef family claim was made at the IRB, a higher percentage of Afghan claims were successful than claims from Iran,” said Fournier.

So while some Liberals try to spin that Monsef being born a mere 373 kilometers away is “no big deal” – the law says otherwise. “Lying in order to get one’s way in court,” Fournier said, is a very “big deal.”

“It diminishes credibility in her refugee claim,” said Fournier.

He also notes that the law in question is not a Harper era law, as many mistakenly claim.

“Section 109 (dealing with forfeiture of citizenship when fraud is revealed) was a component of the original Immigration Act, on the books since the early 1950s,” he said.

The retired IRB judge is publicly speaking out about this case.

And Fournier is no partisan Conservative with an axe to grind. Quite the opposite. The Liberal-appointed judge was once described by the Walrus Magazine as an “admirer of Pierre Trudeau” and a “decidedly Liberal red in a sea of Conservative blue.” He was also the president of three Liberal riding associations.

Fournier is calling for full disclosure from Monsef, and urging her to release her “entire Personal Information Form, the various support documents, the formal decision and the reasons as provided by the IRB.”

These documents, according to Fournier, would help determine the accuracy of Monsef’s claim. “On the other hand, it might indicate that fraud has taken place,” said Fournier.



Looks like the federal government might be in a bit of sticky wicket. The MP that is coming up with the new system dictating how we "democratically" select future governments in Canada, may not even be a Canadian. Cool.

May we live in interesting times.