ARCHIVED – Support for Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act - 2013

Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke, Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP)
The CACP supports the efforts of the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act to provide for a more expeditious removal from Canada of foreigners who are convicted of committing serious crimes against Canadians. As well, we support measures to prevent those with a history of committing criminal offenses, or who pose a risk to our society, from entering Canada. The Act will help to make Canadians and those who legitimately enter Canada safer.
(June 25, 2012)

Canadian Police Association (CPA)
The Canadian Police Association (CPA) welcomes the introduction of the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act, particularly with respect to the enhanced prohibitions against those who have committed serious crimes abroad from coming to Canada.

While the overwhelming majority of those who come to Canada make a tremendous contribution to our shared communities, there does remain a small minority who flout Canadian law and have taken advantage of drawn-out proceedings to remain in the country at a risk to public safety. This legislation will help us by streamlining the procedures necessary to remove individuals who remain at-risk to re-offend.

Ensuring that public safety is one of the considerations with respect to admissibility to Canada is a clear step in the right direction.
(July 16, 2012)

Mr. Tom Stamatakis, President Canadian Police Association:
Let me be absolutely clear. Canada as a nation is a stronger country because of immigrants who come here to enrich our communities through a shared culture. Police services across Canada, from Vancouver where I serve as a police constable to Halifax and all points in between, count among our members a number of first and second generation immigrants who serve their adopted country with honour and pride every day, and I’m one of them.

Unfortunately, there are those that come to Canada and choose not to respect and follow our laws. In fact, I was surprised to note, in preparing for my appearance today, that since 2007, according to the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, there have been an average of 900 appeals of deportation orders filed per year by serious criminals, over 4,000 in total. Surely, we can agree that our communities would be safer, and our police would be helped by streamlining this process in removing these security concerns as quickly as possible.

Under the current regime, criminals who are currently serving a sentence of less than two years are eligible to file an appeal to the immigration appeal division. The CPA entirely supports the measures contained within this bill to reduce that time to sentences of less than six months. We also support the new measures that would make it more difficult for criminals, who have been sentenced outside of Canada to access the immigration appeal division.

These are common sense solutions that are necessary to help our members protect their communities. The problem has become that the criminals we catch are becoming increasingly aware of ways to game the system, abusing processes that were put in place with the best of intentions.

As a front line officer, whether you’re talking about a criminal act where innocent citizens in our country are being victimized by violence or other activities like that, or about a white-collar crime, where you have people who are losing life savings and having their entire lives destroyed, where there is a custodial sentence of a duration of six months, I think somebody has committed a serious crime, and I think 800 is too many.

The issue for me as a front line officer and what I get from my members is this. I support fair process. It’s obviously an important piece of our society and what Canada stands for, but you have to balance the rights of Canadians to live in their homes and not be afraid of being victimized against the rights of people who were convicted of serious criminal offences and whom we see all the time, particularly on the criminal side, continuing to commit offences while they’re appealing. I say we shouldn’t use Canadians as an experiment.
(CIMM Committee – Oct 31, 2012)

Sharon Rosenfeldt, Victims of Violence
Victims of Violence is writing you today in support of Bill C-43, the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act. We are very pleased with the Government’s announcement of changes to legislation that would make it easier for the Government to remove dangerous foreign criminals from our country.

As an organization that works with victims of violent crimes and their families, we applaud this proposed change. We feel that streamlining the deportation of convicted criminals from Canada will make our country safer. Limiting access to the Immigration and Refugee Board’s Immigration Appeal Division, and thus reducing the amount of time that convicted criminals may spend in Canada, is an important proactive step in ensuring the safety of all Canadians.

Reducing the time that criminals may spend in Canada will reduce the chances of these criminals continuing on a path of destruction by committing additional crimes. It must be made clear that crime, particularly of a serious, violent or dangerous nature, will not be tolerated in our country.

Cutting short foreign criminals’ opportunity for lengthy appeals will go a long way in minimizing and preventing the re-victimization of those innocent Canadians who are the victims of foreign offenders.

We are pleased that the Government is putting the safety and well-being of all Canadians first with the introduction of this Bill.
(Letter – July 30, 2012)

The government’s action to date is that they have indeed listened to victims and to law-abiding Canadians who want our laws to differentiate between the majority of offenders for whom rehabilitation is a realistic option and the repeat offenders for whom the justice and correctional system is a revolving door, which does include foreign individuals who repeatedly break our laws.

We feel that in the long run the measures in Bill C-43 won’t put more foreign criminals in jail, but rather they will keep the right people in Canada. That is what crime victims have been asking for.

We see Bill C-43 as a long-awaited piece of legislation which in part is designed to facilitate and make easier the entry into Canada for legitimate visitors and immigrants, while giving government stronger legal tools to not admit into Canada those who may pose a risk to our country. Most important to crime victims is the removal from Canada of those who have committed serious crimes and have been convicted of such crimes by our fair judicial system.

We agree with the Minister, who states that the vast majority of new Canadians will never commit a serious crime and they, therefore, have no tolerance for the small minority who do, who have lost the privilege to stay in Canada.

We also agree with the Minister on due process and natural justice in the rule of law. We also agree with Minister Kenney that even serious convicted foreign criminals should get their day in court and that they should benefit from due process. He agrees, as we do, that they should not be deported without consideration by the Immigration and Refugee Board. However, the Minister does not agree that they should get endless years in court and be able to abuse our fair process.

Victims of Violence is in agreement with the Minister. With this bill, an end would be put to that abuse. We feel that this bill sets a clear agenda to act decisively, as it is the right thing to do for our country and its law-abiding citizens. It sends a message that the rules of engagement have changed in Canada, and it won’t be business as usual for individuals to come to Canada and break our laws.

We strongly believe that if all the amendments in Bill C-43 are supported and implemented, the safety of Canadians will be further enhanced.
(CIMM committee – Oct 31, 2012)

Rick Hanson, Calgary Police Chief:
These are people who have already been convicted of a criminal offence and once that is registered there is no need to delay it any further. They have clearly demonstrated a lack of respect for the law in Canada and many of their crimes are very, very serious – if they have no respect they shouldn’t be here. Nothing sends a stronger message than when there is a deportation because someone has chosen a life of crime and are being held accountable for that.
(Calgary Sun – Apr 22, 2013)

Howard Burns, President of Calgary Police Association:
It’s a no-brainer that we don’t want criminals in Canada and we don’t want our taxpayers to fund endless appeals put forward by them. If you are receiving jail time over and above six months you probably have done something fairly significant, so do we really want people who have committed a crime that’s drawn that type of sentence in Canada?  We support due process, but not due process to the ridiculous.
(Calgary Sun – Apr 22, 2013)

Julie Taub, Immigration Lawyer:
I have represented those who have been found to be criminally inadmissible to Canada, and I have gone to the Immigration Appeal Division to get a stay of removal for them, successfully in almost all cases. …Unfortunately, the majority of the clients I have represented reoffend or they breach their conditions. … I listen to their heart-felt apologies and promises, but time and time again they reoffend and they breach the conditions.

I really support this bill because criminals remain in Canada who are not Canadian, and it’s almost impossible to deport them. There’s no choice with Canadian citizens.

It’s long overdue. This is just a question of hate-mongers… Anybody wanting to promote hatred in Canada, be it against homosexuals, Jews, women, Muslims, etc.—they should all be barred.
(CIMM committee – Oct 29, 2012)

“The system we have in place is currently not working because it affords someone who is convicted an endless array of appeals. For that reason, I support the minister’s attempt to deal with criminals, human rights abusers.”
(Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology – May 2, 2013)

Immigrants For Canada
Immigrants For Canada fully supports this proposal. Once a criminal is ordered deported following the conviction of a criminal offence in Canada (which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years or more, or is sentenced to a length greater than six months), the process to have said person deported can be extraordinary. Abuses of the appeal process can delay the matter for years. Ensuring fairness in this process; and eliminating abuse, is certainly in the best interests of all Canadians.
(June 26, 2012)

Richard Kurland, Immigration Lawyer
I think that’s wonderful to hear that the Minister is using hard data and some street sense to come up with policy solutions that will hit the ground running.
(Roy Green Show – June 23, 2012)

Ravi Jain, Immigration Lawyer:
It’s extremely popular. The public is very much onboard with this. And the rationale is a lot of people in the public will say, well look, if you come here as a permanent resident of Canada and while you’re waiting to get your citizenship, if you can’t abide by our laws and you’re going to commit crimes, then you should be deported.

If you’re coming to Canada and you happen to have relatives with you, dependents with you, and if you’re inadmissible, but for minor reasons, like you know, maybe some criminality, but not really overly serious, but not organized criminality, or if it’s health grounds or some other, you know, misrepresentation or other kinds of grounds, and you’re coming, you have special permit to overcome that inadmissibility, then you’re no longer going to render your dependents inadmissible at the same time, because right now if you’re coming with someone who’s inadmissible, if you’re the wife or kids or whatever, then you’re automatically inadmissible. So, they’re going to remove that. And on the flipside if your dependents are coming without you, but you are someone who would be inadmissible because of, let’s say, security, international human rights violations or organized criminality, so very serious stuff, then we’re not going to let your spouse and your kids come even if you don’t happen to be there at the same time, because right now if you’re not coming with the person’s who’s inadmissible for those reasons then you’re okay to come in. It’s getting rid of some, just cleaning up some of the areas now that need to be cleaned up.
(OMNI News – September 25, 2012)

Dan Bohbot, Association of Immigration Lawyers of Quebec
I always say to my clients don’t commit a crime. Obviously Canada doesn’t want people who are going to come here and then end up in the judicial system. So obviously I think Canadians, it’s true, do not want criminals in Canada. I agree with that.
(CBC Radio – June 21, 2012)

Martin Collacott, Centre for Immigration Policy Reform
What that means is that someone who we should be getting rid of immediately can stay for months and years, even decades by a whole series of appeals that they launch. And if you’ve been found guilty by a Canadian court, convicted and served time, surely that’s enough to say that you’re a danger to Canadian society. You shouldn’t be given years, months and years of appeals to prevent your removal.
(Roy Green Show – June 23, 2012)

The kind of legislation being proposed today is to deal with very concrete problems of particularly massive abuse of the system and the refugee system.

I think what is happening in this bill makes sense. It is not surprising considering how far we have erred in the other direction. Now it has to be brought back. I am glad to see that this government is trying to do something about it.
(CIMM committee – Nov 5, 2012)

I would point out that the provision for the faster removal of those who commit serious crimes is long overdue. One of the major problems in effecting the removal of foreign criminals and individuals who pose terrorist threats is that many of them make refugee claims when they are ordered deported and, because of the dysfunctionality of the refugee determination system, this can delay their departure for years and even decades.

Just as it is important to correct the failings of the refugee determination system so it is not clogged with undeserving cases, this bill would make it possible to deal more speedily with those people who genuinely deserve our protection as well as remove expeditiously those who do not, particularly those who represent a threat to Canadian society.
(Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology May 1, 2013)

Mr. James Bissett:
I’ve had a lot of experience in immigration and refugee issues, almost 36 years. The most difficult area of immigration management has always been enforcing laws relating to the apprehension and removal of those who enter the country illegally, or remain here after their legal status has expired, or they have been convicted of serious crimes.

I believe the measures in Bill C-43 should receive full support. It’s a long overdue and modest first step, I would say, toward reform of a system of removal that has proven to be quite ineffective.

If …you know you might be removed if you’re convicted of an offence over six months, then you shouldn’t commit the crime.
(CIMM committee – Oct 31, 2012)

Reis Pagtakhan, Immigration Lawyer
The portion of the bill that deserves support is the provision that eliminates the right of permanent residents to appeal removals to the immigration appeal division for sentences of six months or more in prison. While some argue that this would unfairly penalize long-term permanent residents who may be deported for their actions, what is missed in this argument is that the permanent residents who face deportation are criminals. It should be stated that these individuals are not alleged criminals; they are not accused; they are not innocent. They have been convicted of a crime in a court of law.

Members of Parliament should also keep in mind that criminals could avoid deportation by simply being law-abiding. The Criminal Code of Canada is designed to codify what we Canadians view as criminal behaviour. These individuals have chosen the path of criminal behaviour.

It is not too much to expect an individual who immigrates to Canada to respect the law. Frankly, it is not too much to expect Canadian-born individuals, such as me, to respect the law. We expect people to respect the law, and that is why we have a criminal justice system. People who break the law face consequences.
(CIMM committee – Nov 7, 2013)

Immigration Minister has introduced a proposed new law that will make it easier for the government to remove certain non-Canadian criminals from Canada. The part that eliminates the ability of certain convicted criminals to appeal their removal from Canada is fair. It is important to note we are not talking about removing non-citizens who have been merely charged or accused of a crime. The only people that will be removed without appeal are permanent residents convicted of a crime and sentenced to six or more months of prison. These individuals are no longer presumed innocent. They were found guilty after having the right to hire a lawyer and to defend themselves in court. It is only after going through this process that these individuals were convicted and sentenced.

Some will also argue these changes are unfair because the convicted criminal will not be able to plead their personal immigration circumstances in an appeal. This argument does not hold much water since the Manitoba Court of Appeal ruled last year that judges must look at a convicted criminal’s personal immigration circumstances before handing down a sentence.

When sentencing convicted criminals, judges already take into account a number of factors including whether the individual has pled guilty, has shown remorse, has family and community support, is employed, and, of course, has committed previous crimes. Since judges must take into account a criminal’s personal immigration circumstances, the convicted criminal should have more than ample protection of his or her rights
(Winnipeg Free Press, June 28, 2012)

Mr. Ahmed Hussen, National President, Canadian Somali Congress:
I want to get on the record that the vast majority of my community, as well as other Canadians, do believe in the principle that we should deport foreigners who commit serious crimes.
CIMM committee – Nov 21, 2012)

Richard Goldman, Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes :
I think all our member organizations agree that it is not too much to expect foreign nationals to obey the law, just like Canadian citizens.

I think everyone here agrees that foreign criminals should be removed from Canada as quickly as possible.
(CIMM committee – Nov 7, 2012)

Jacques Shore, Gowlings:
I would like to take this opportunity to commend the government for tackling this difficult issue and for proposing some essential and long overdue changes… I am confident that Bill C-43 can improve national security, public safety and ensure the fair treatment of non-citizens.

I support clause 24, which removes the appeal rights for persons convicted of crimes and sentenced to imprisonment for six months or more. This will speed up deportation of those convicted of serious offences. Criminals should not slow down the Canadian justice system by relying on years of appeals and giving them the opportunity to reoffend.

Bill C-43, if passed, could prevent people who have demonstrated track records of blatant lack of respect for our society’s cherished values from coming to Canada.

Bill C-43 is a step in the right direction. It will prevent criminals from taking advantage of our overly generous appeals process.
(CIMM committee – Nov 19, 2012)

Dr. Meb Rashid, Medical Director of the Crossroads Clinic at Women’s College Hospital
Welcomed the expedition of the removal of criminals from Canada.
(Toronto Star – June 21, 2012)

Natalie Brender, research associate at the Centre for International Policy Studies at the University of Ottawa
The changes the government has introduced make good sense (including swifter deportation for non-citizen criminals)… Many of the reforms [the Minister]’s pursuing could solidify public confidence in our citizenship and immigration regimes, and strengthen Canadians’ welcome for the millions of newcomers our country needs to prosper in decades ahead.
(Ottawa Citizen – July 14, 2012)

The Globe and Mail
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has made a convincing case for a new law allowing the swift deportation of convicted criminals. The infamous example of Clinton Gayle underscores the need for such legislation. A Jamaican citizen who was convicted in Canada of multiple criminal offences, Mr. Gayle was able to remain in the country long after a 1991 deportation order, because of the immigration appeals process. In 1996, he shot two Toronto police officers, killing one of them.

It is an extreme example. But it was hardly an isolated one. Take, for instance, the case of Walford Uriah Steer, who somehow managed to remain in Canada long enough to be convicted of more than 70 criminal acts by the time he was arrested again last year and charged with multiple prostitution offences involving a 16-year-old girl.

The common thread in these cases, and other less notorious ones, is that the offenders racked up a string of convictions for which they were sentenced to less than two years in prison – the threshold at which those who are ordered deported lose their right to appeal to the Immigration and Refugee Board. So Mr. Kenney is proposing to lower that bar so that only those sentenced to less than six months could use the immigration appeals process.

But while some immigration lawyers are predictably up in arms, it is difficult to argue with the bill’s main thrust. The immigration process can be enormously complex, but one principle should be fairly straightforward: The tiny share of immigrants and refugees who lack citizenship and are convicted of serious crimes on Canadian soil forfeit their right to be here.
(June 25, 2012)

Calgary Herald
In the category of “why didn’t anyone think of this before,” comes new legislation introduced last week to quickly deport foreigners who commit crimes. Duh.

[The Immigration Minister] cited the case of Clinton Gayle, a Jamaican who was convicted of multiple drug offences and sentenced to a term of two years less a day. For six years beginning in 1990, the government tried unsuccessfully to deport him. In 1996, Gayle shot and killed a Toronto police officer, Todd Baylis.

Although high profile, the Gayle case is not isolated. Career criminal Walford Uriah Steer, a Jamaican who was one of those put on the Canada Border Services Agency deportation list last year, was convicted of more than 70 criminal acts by the time he was arrested and charged with multiple prostitution offences involving a 16-year-old girl. Earlier this month, the CBSA added five new names to its deportation list. To date, the CBSA has removed 19 people who were on its most wanted list for deportation and located five others who were living abroad.

Under the proposed new rules, foreign citizens involved in organized crime and human or international rights violations will no longer be permitted to attempt to put off their removal.

There are currently more than 2,700 deportation orders under appeal in Canada, with the average file taking 15 months to process.

The new legislation is the latest in a series of get-tough immigration policies from Kenney, ranging from crackdowns on bogus refugee claimants to evicting fake citizens and dealing with human smugglers and shady immigration consultants. There is no arguing that Kenney is reshaping Canada’s image as a soft target for immigration.

By doing so, he has also made more room for legitimate, productive and deserving immigrants who play by the rules. Instead of accommodating criminals with endless appeals, we’ll gladly take more of the law-abiding ones.
(June 27, 2012)

Kelly McParland, National Post
As with many of the other reforms Mr. Kenney has initiated, the problem he’s addressing has been widely known and complained about for years. Canada’s immigration laws have been far too lax and open to abuse for years. As one Edmonton columnist noted, the change is so sensible it will probably surprise most Canadians that the new policy isn’t already the law of the land.
(June 22, 2012)

Lorne Gunter, Edmonton Sun
[The Immigration Minister] introduced a bill – the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act – that is so sensible it will probably surprise most Canadians that the new policy isn’t already the law of the land.

He moved to close a major loophole that has for years permitted recent immigrants to commit crimes in Canada before they become citizens, but remain here nonetheless.

Under existing law, any resident non-citizen guilty of a crime can be ordered deported to his home country, but those sentenced to two years or less have been permitted to appeal their expulsion orders to the Immigration and Refugee Board.

The process takes an average of 15 months and often very much longer. By the time a case is heard, the offender has often finished his jail time, after which there is less enthusiasm to kick him out.

The whole thing has become a gerbil-wheel of futility.

If this bill passes, those sentenced to six months or longer will have no right to appeal their automatic deportation orders.

They will no longer be able to use the bureaucratic process to delay their removal from Canada until it is too late for officials to do anything about it.

How can this change possibly be unfair?

If you wish to move here and become a citizen, shouldn’t you have to be on your best behaviour while you wait to become a Canadian?

Why should Canada have to keep you if you demonstrate your danger to the community during your probationary period?

Other new rules in this law make it easier for immigration and refugee screeners to reject applications to come to Canada from those individuals suspected of “involvement in organized crime or security, human or international rights violations.”

Excuse me!?

You mean it’s presently difficult for our immigration officials to turn away gang members, potential terrorists and war criminals?

Not only is it difficult to bar the door to such undesirable applicants, even if Immigration Canada officials manage to build a case for excluding organized criminals and political extremists, it is next to impossible to exclude their spouses and children. They may not get in, but their wives and kids will. Bill C-43 would correct that, too.

About 86% of Canadians convicted of a crime this year will be sentenced to six months or less, according to Statistics Canada.

That means Kenney’s new rules will not lead to mass deportation of petty criminals.

Rather, only those convicted of serious offenses such as assault, sexual assault, fraud and drug dealing will be affected.

Nor will the new law adversely impact the roughly 300,000 new Canadians who come here every year to live lawfully, work hard and make a better life for their families. Each year more than 2,500 criminal immigrants sentenced to between six and 24 months in jail have managed to avoid expulsion from Canada by way of the existing appeals process.

It is not mean or hardhearted or bigoted to deny them citizenship and punt them from our shores more quickly.

If you want to come to Canada and make a new life here, welcome. We love to have you.

But if you commit a crime while awaiting citizenship, don’t claim to be a victim if we make you leave.
(June 22, 2012)

Features