Refugee/Migrant Crisis

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
112,585
12,543
113
Low Earth Orbit
Program let thousands of inadmissible foreign nationals into Canada: CBSA
Fewer than half of 168 permits checked at random followed the rules, report says

Author of the article:postmedia News
Published Oct 23, 2023 • 1 minute read

The Canada Border Services Agency said thousands of inadmissible foreigners were let into the country under the temporary resident permit program that previously failed four audits.


And fewer than half — about 48 % — of 168 permits checked at random followed the rules, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.


“Without monitoring and confirming the departure of these travellers, the agency cannot take enforcement action, particularly for persons who may pose a risk to Canada,” said the CBSA report.



The program, which allows foreigners — otherwise prohibited from Canada — to stay up to three years and qualify for health and welfare benefits, failed audits in 2008, 2017, 2019 and 2021.

Customs officers can issue the $200 permits to border-crossers if they are “satisfied the foreign national’s need to enter or remain in Canada is compelling enough to overcome the health and safety risks to Canadian society.”

Rules require that permit-holders show “compelling reasons to warrant the issuance of the permit and how it outweighs the risks.”

More than 6,000 permits a year were issued prior to the pandemic, said the CBSA report, but that number fell by almost two-thirds to 2,044 in 2020 due to pandemic lockdowns and Quarantine Act enforcement.

The report said of the 168 permit-holders audited, 23% were from Ukraine and Afghanistan.
But if you give me the invitation
To hear the bells of freedom chime
To hell with your double standards
We're coming rougher every time

We're coming rougher
We're coming rougher
We're coming rougher every time

Immigrada immigraniada
Immigrada immigraniada-da
Immigrada immigraniada
We're coming rougher every time

All those who made it and quickly jaded
To them we got nothing to say
Our immigrada, immigraniada
For them it's Don Quixote's kind of way
But if you give me the invitation
To hear the bells of freedom chime
To hell with your double standards
We're coming rougher every time

Eugene Hutz
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,360
3,248
113
Three in four Canadians say higher immigration is worsening housing crisis: Poll
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Nojoud Al Mallees
Published Nov 29, 2023 • 3 minute read

OTTAWA — A large majority of Canadians agree that higher immigration is fuelling the housing crisis and putting pressure on the health-care system, a new Leger poll suggests.


New federal voting intention numbers from the polling firm also show that the Conservatives are maintaining their sizable lead over the governing Liberals.


The polling, conducted from Friday to Sunday, found that about three-quarters of respondents agreed the increase in immigrants is adding strain to both the housing market and health-care system.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents, or 63 per cent, said the volume of newcomers is also adding pressure to the country’s education systems.

But the poll shows that Canadians see some benefits to higher immigration, too.

About three-quarters of respondents agreed that higher immigration contributes to the cultural diversity of the country, and 63 per cent said the arrival of young immigrants contributes to the workforce and tax base, which supports older generations.


Leger polled 1,529 people online. While the results were statistically weighted, they cannot be assigned a margin of error because online polls are not considered truly random samples.

The survey results underline the mixed feelings Canadians have about the effect of immigration on the country.

At the same time, this signals a shift in public sentiment on immigration, as the country grapples with affordability challenges and problems with the delivery of public services.

In 2022, Canada’s population grew by more than a million people, a number that included 607,782 non-permanent residents and 437,180 immigrants.

Leger finds that compared to March 2022, the proportion of Canadians who say they want the country to welcome more immigrants than it has the past has fallen from 17 per cent to nine per cent.


On the other hand, more people say Canada should welcome fewer immigrants, with that number rising from 39 per cent to 48 per cent.

Christian Bourque, executive vice-president of Leger, says more Canadians appear to be linking immigration with problems such as housing affordability.

“The makeup of the country, and the issues facing the country, are a bit different than they were before the pandemic,” said Bourque.

The federal government has been scrutinized for rapidly increasing its annual immigration targets while the number of temporary residents in the country also explodes.

The number of permanent residents Canada is set to welcome in 2024 and 2025 will increase as planned to 485,000 and 500,000, respectively.


Slightly more than half of respondents to the Leger poll — 53 per cent — said those numbers are too high, while 28 per cent said Canada is poised to admit the right number of immigrants. Four per cent said the country does not welcome enough immigrants.

The federal Liberals have argued that growing the country’s population is important to address labour shortages and aging demographics. They’ve also argued that newcomers can help build the homes that Canadians desperately need.

But following much debate on whether Canada can handle these higher flows of immigration, Immigration Minister Marc Miller tabled new targets in Parliament earlier this month that call for the number of new permanent residents to hold steady at 500,000 in 2026.


Meanwhile, Leger’s latest poll on federal voting intentions shows the Conservatives are maintaining a 14-point lead over the Liberals, with 40 per cent of respondents saying they would most likely vote for the Conservatives if an election were held at the time of the polling. Another 26 per cent said they would vote Liberal, and 20 per cent would vote NDP.

Only 29 per cent of respondents said they’re very or somewhat satisfied with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, a number that has been declining over the last few months.

A quarter of respondents said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre would make the best prime minister, down four percentage points from October. Trudeau trails Poilievre at 19 per cent, while 17 per cent of respondents say NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh would make the best prime minister.

Bourque said the lower support for the leaders, in comparison to that for their parties, suggests the issue of leadership may become more of a focal point in federal politics.

“We’re seeing that … all leaders are underperforming (their parties). Which begs the question: will this all be about leadership moving forward?” he said.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,360
3,248
113
Free hotel rooms, meals for refugee applicants reportedly cost $769M in 2023
Author of the article:postmedia News
Published Dec 08, 2023 • Last updated 3 days ago • 1 minute read

The government rang up a $769-million bill to provide free hotel rooms and meals for refugees and illegal immigrants this year, according to the Department of Immigration.


Lengths of hotel stays ranged from a “few weeks to a few months” an official said, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.


“There are two mechanisms of funding,” Nathalie Manseau, chief financial officer for the immigration department, testified at the Senate National Finance Committee, according to Blacklock’s.

The $769 million represented the combined cost.

“The first one is the interim lodging sites, which are the hotels,” said Manseau. “The anticipated expenditure for this fiscal year is $557 million. We still have a few months in the year, so it’s anticipated spending. The other is the interim housing assistance program, the $212 million.”

“The way the program works is different municipalities will submit a request for reimbursement and the department will assess the request and provide reimbursement up to $212 million,” said Manseau.



About half the money, “nearly $100 million specifically,” was to reimburse municipalities in the Greater Toronto Area, she said.

Manseau didn’t detail how many refugee applicants and illegal immigrants were accommodated at $769 million.

“Where are you putting these people?” asked Sen. Larry Smith (Que.).

“Leases with the different hotels,” replied Manseau.

“How long do people stay in these facilities?” asked Sen. Smith.

“It varies from a few weeks to a few months,” replied Manseau.

In a May 4 Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons, the immigration department said room and board for illegal immigrants at a single Quebec border crossing cost the equivalent of $1,220 per person.

Costs for hotel rooms and meals for 105,315 illegal immigrants who crossed into Canada at Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Que., totalled $127.5 million over a five-year period.
 
  • Angry
Reactions: Taxslave2

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,360
3,248
113
Trudeau Grits finally willing to admit immigration helped spur housing crisis
Problem is, Sean Fraser was Trudeau's immigration minister who made a mess of the file before taking over housing


Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Dec 14, 2023 • 3 minute read

Justin Trudeau’s Housing Minister Sean Fraser now says that the federal government may need to look at immigration numbers to deal with the housing crisis.


Are you freaking kidding me?


Up until July, Fraser had spent the last two years as Trudeau’s immigration minister. It was Fraser who oversaw plans to increase Canada’s annual target for permanent residents to 500,000 per year. More importantly, it was Fraser who oversaw a system that allowed the international student funnel to increase from 350,000 in 2015, when the Liberals took office, to 900,000 this year.

You can’t bring in that many people without increasing the infrastructure needed to support them.

Instead, we haven’t increased the physical infrastructure, the health infrastructure or the housing supply and now we wonder why we have problems. But suddenly, after denouncing anyone who would question the immigration numbers as racist, the Trudeau government now questions its own actions.


“We do need to continue to look at reforms to our temporary residency programs,” Fraser said to Global News in an exclusive interview.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in the numbers of the international student program and the temporary foreign worker program in recent years.”



Why would that be?

Well, it’s because the Trudeau government allowed it to happen. It’s true that colleges and universities across the country, especially those in Ontario, have become addicted to the high tuition rates that international students pay, but — and this is important — those students are only allowed into the country because the federal government admits them.


The provinces — Ontario in particular — need to get a grip on the international student file, especially the diploma mill private colleges being set up in conjunction with public colleges and universities. Still, just because these schools exist doesn’t mean the Trudeau government has to let students into the country.

As for permanent residents, we may need the immigration levels to fill jobs, to keep propping up our social safety net and to keep our population stable, but there are ways to do that with different levels of government helping to co-ordinate.

The Trudeau Liberals increased the annual target for permanent residents to Canada to levels not seen in over a century. Before this recent surge, we hadn’t seen more than 400,000 people move to Canada in a year since 1913.


Back then, we were mostly sending people to Western Canada and wishing them luck as they built their own houses. Now, we are bringing people into our major city centres without adding more doctors, nurses or homes for people to live in.

When my parents came to Canada in 1968, we were building almost as many homes as we built last year. In less than five years, they saved up some money and were able to buy a home.

Unless today’s immigrants come with bags of cash, that won’t be the case for them nor will buying a home be in the cards for young people born in Canada and entering the workforce.

By failing to plan and failing to co-ordinate with other levels of government, the Trudeau Liberals have done something I didn’t think was possible: They have broken the Canadian consensus on immigration. Public opinion is turning and things could get ugly if they don’t get a handle on this issue soon.

So, yes, look at the numbers, Minister Fraser, but not just the international student numbers — look at the permanent resident numbers as well. If people can’t get housing when they come here, if they can’t get basic services like health care, then why are we bringing them in?

It’s not fair to anyone for this to continue.

Take a pause, get a handle on things, co-ordinate with the provinces and municipalities and resume when you have fixed the mess you helped create.
 

Taxslave2

House Member
Aug 13, 2022
3,506
2,096
113
immigrants.

The federal Liberals have argued that growing the country’s population is important to address labour shortages and aging demographics. They’ve also argued that newcomers can help build the homes that Canadians desperately need.
Covering up the Ponzi scheme that our pension system really is would be more accurate.
true, when the boomers all finally retire there will be very few people willing or capable of working left in Canada. But, we must discriminate about who we let in. We need immigrants that are educated, speak English, and share most of our values. We do not want or need those that ar3 using Canada as a place hide to continue their wars at home.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Twin_Moose

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,360
3,248
113
Gay Ugandan in Edmonton faces deportation, fears jail or death over anti-LGBTQ law
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Jamin Mike
Published Dec 15, 2023 • 3 minute read

EDMONTON — A man in Edmonton is making a last-ditch legal bid to avoid a Monday deportation flight back to Uganda, where he fears he may be imprisoned, harmed or even killed for being gay.


The man, who asked not to be identified for his safety but sometimes goes by the name Sue, said his lawyer has asked the Federal Court for one more review of his case.


But he says if it doesn’t succeed, he will reluctantly get on the flight to the east African country.

“No one’s expecting me, and I don’t know where I will go,” the 25-year-old told The Canadian Press in an interview.

“It doesn’t matter where you go. Everywhere, people think a man like me who is gay, that it’s a curse.”

Sue said he has been packing up his apartment and trying to sell belongings on Facebook since the Canada Border Services Agency ordered him to report Monday for a flight to his home country.

Homosexuality has long been illegal in Uganda. Earlier this year, the country passed one of the harshest anti-homosexuality laws in the world. It could impose the death penalty as punishment for “aggravated homosexuality.”


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called on Uganda to repeal the legislation.

Sue said he had a good childhood and grew up like most Ugandans. He went to school, played soccer and volunteered for different activities. He later studied to become a nurse.

When he moved to Canada in 2018 on a student visa that was set to expire this past summer, he transferred his nursing credits and earned his licensed practical nursing credentials, then got a part-time health-care job while working toward a bachelor’s degree in science.

Sue said he also found support in Edmonton’s LGBTQ community.

Then he came out to his family, who live in Uganda.

“That’s when everything turned the other way,” he said. His parents cut off his tuition, and without funds he dropped out of university.


He said he knew returning to Uganda after coming out would put him in danger, so he sought advice from Newcomers Edmonton, which advised that filing for a refugee claim would be his best option.

Sue said he filed a claim on the grounds he would be persecuted as gay if he returns to Uganda.

The federal government rejected Sue’s refugee claim in July 2022, a decision upheld on appeal in early 2023.

Toronto lawyer Michael Battista then applied for a deferral of Sue’s deportation. It was rejected earlier this week.

Battista says he has now filed an application to the Federal Court for a stay on Sue’s deportation, but it’s unclear when the case might be heard.

Battista said Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board rejected the refugee bid even though Frank Mugisha, director of Sexualized Minorities Uganda, said he knew Sue for seven years in Uganda and witnessed him with a boyfriend.


Battista said the board did not find the sum of evidence compelling enough to overturn the deportation order.

“More than anything, this case highlights the need to provide strong evidence of a claimant’s sexual orientation as early as possible in the process,” said Battista.

“My client’s previous counsel did not do this, and now it is an uphill battle to have that evidence considered.”

A Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson said in an email that it does not comment on individual cases.

The Immigration and Refugee Board also did not provide comment.

Mugisha said Sue’s family is Muslim and they believe that Canada made him gay. They have the resources to track him down and have him put in jail due to embarrassment, he added.


“Canada hasn’t shown that much support, and deporting someone doesn’t show support either,” he said.

Mugisha said this is the first time he’s heard of a gay man being deported to Uganda in the last decade.

Rainbow Railroad, a global non-profit that helps LGBTQ people, says it has received 1,500 requests for help from Ugandans so far this year, with 90 per cent asking after the country’s draconian homosexuality law was passed.

Rainbow Railroad CEO Kimahli Powell, in an email, said Ugandan citizens are required to report on one another or face punishment.

Doug Kerr of Dignity Network Canada, a group of civil society organizations, said it’s disappointing Canada is deporting a gay person to Uganda.

Kerr said a challenge of the homosexuality law was filed Monday in Ugandan court, and that he hopes Canada makes an official effort to support affected Ugandans.

Jason Kung, with Global Affairs Canada, said the federal government strongly condemns Uganda’s law and is assessing further response.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
25,641
9,234
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
Weirdly, above, it doesn’t say in the story or the link why the man who sometimes goes as “Sue” is being deported?

Sometime “Sue’s” work visa expired, and when he applied for refugee status, his application — and subsequent appeals — were rejected.

Why didn’t Sue just apply to renew his work visa instead of applying for refugee status? I’ve no idea.
And, he was happy to report: “I’m going back to work tomorrow.”
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
112,585
12,543
113
Low Earth Orbit
Weirdly, above, it doesn’t say in the story or the link why the man who sometimes goes as “Sue” is being deported?

Sometimes “Sue’s” work visa expired, and when he applied for refugee status, his application — and subsequent appeals — were rejected.

Why didn’t Sue just apply to renew his work visa instead of applying for refugee status? I’ve no idea.
And, he was happy to report: “I’m going back to work tomorrow.”
Fuckery.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Twin_Moose

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,360
3,248
113
Canada has added more than 1 million people and counting in 2023, it’s unsustainable
The Trudeau Liberals have allowed the immigration file to get out of hand


Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Dec 19, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

The quarterly population estimate released by Statistics Canada should be sobering for Canada’s political class.


We are on track to add between 1.2 and 1.5 million new people by the end of this year. The real-time population clock, as I write this at noon on Tuesday, has our population at 40,720,342 with more than 1,400 new people having arrived in Canada since midnight.


But as we add this massive number of people, we aren’t keeping up with the required housing, infrastructure or health-care resources to match the population.

Just last week, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced housing starts were down 22% across the country in November — but Montreal was down 30% while Toronto and Vancouver were down 39% each. Nothing like solving the housing crisis by bringing in far more people while building fewer homes for people to live in.


On the jobs front, StatsCan has been warning for months that population growth was rising faster than employment growth. In November, that was a factor in the unemployment rate increasing to 5.8%, a trend that started in April when unemployment stood at 5%.

To put this population growth in perspective, Canada’s population increased more in the third quarter of 2023 than any quarter since 1957. So far this year, we have taken in more people that in any year since Confederation in 1867.

And it is immigration that is driving the population increase with 96% of the growth, or about 990,000, coming from immigration. Back in 1957, we had high immigration levels but we were also in the middle of a baby boom — we definitely aren’t anymore.


Most of the growth in the last quarter wasn’t even permanent residents with just 107,972 people coming in that category. Instead, the bulk of the growth, some 73% of the total, came from 312,578 temporary workers and students arriving in that time frame.

This is not a sustainable system and needs to be fixed.

Consider that so far this year, our population has essentially added another Ottawa-Gatineau region to our country with none of the infrastructure that goes with that million-plus population. By the end of the year that increase in population will be equal to another Calgary but, again, with none of the infrastructure.

The Trudeau Liberals have allowed the immigration file to get out of hand, helping to fuel the housing crisis, while their policies, like the Impact Assessment Act, stop or delay needed projects from going ahead. At a time when we need to be building, the Trudeau Liberals have fought highways, housing projects, power plants and more.


You can’t add that many people without adding the infrastructure or cracks will begin to show in the system. We already have seen the impact of immigration on housing prices in key areas like Toronto and Vancouver but we are seeing an increased strain on our health system as well with people unable to access care.

The mismanagement of this file brought about something I never thought I’d see — the Liberals broke the trust Canadians had in our system. For years there was a general consensus supporting high immigration levels based on a well-managed and fair system.

As we’ve seen with recent polling, Canadians are questioning the system now.

Unless the government gets a handle on this file, expect the questioning to turn hostile and support to fade away.

blilley@postmedia.com
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
112,585
12,543
113
Low Earth Orbit
Canada has added more than 1 million people and counting in 2023, it’s unsustainable
The Trudeau Liberals have allowed the immigration file to get out of hand


Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Published Dec 19, 2023 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read

The quarterly population estimate released by Statistics Canada should be sobering for Canada’s political class.


We are on track to add between 1.2 and 1.5 million new people by the end of this year. The real-time population clock, as I write this at noon on Tuesday, has our population at 40,720,342 with more than 1,400 new people having arrived in Canada since midnight.


But as we add this massive number of people, we aren’t keeping up with the required housing, infrastructure or health-care resources to match the population.

Just last week, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced housing starts were down 22% across the country in November — but Montreal was down 30% while Toronto and Vancouver were down 39% each. Nothing like solving the housing crisis by bringing in far more people while building fewer homes for people to live in.


On the jobs front, StatsCan has been warning for months that population growth was rising faster than employment growth. In November, that was a factor in the unemployment rate increasing to 5.8%, a trend that started in April when unemployment stood at 5%.

To put this population growth in perspective, Canada’s population increased more in the third quarter of 2023 than any quarter since 1957. So far this year, we have taken in more people that in any year since Confederation in 1867.

And it is immigration that is driving the population increase with 96% of the growth, or about 990,000, coming from immigration. Back in 1957, we had high immigration levels but we were also in the middle of a baby boom — we definitely aren’t anymore.


Most of the growth in the last quarter wasn’t even permanent residents with just 107,972 people coming in that category. Instead, the bulk of the growth, some 73% of the total, came from 312,578 temporary workers and students arriving in that time frame.

This is not a sustainable system and needs to be fixed.

Consider that so far this year, our population has essentially added another Ottawa-Gatineau region to our country with none of the infrastructure that goes with that million-plus population. By the end of the year that increase in population will be equal to another Calgary but, again, with none of the infrastructure.

The Trudeau Liberals have allowed the immigration file to get out of hand, helping to fuel the housing crisis, while their policies, like the Impact Assessment Act, stop or delay needed projects from going ahead. At a time when we need to be building, the Trudeau Liberals have fought highways, housing projects, power plants and more.


You can’t add that many people without adding the infrastructure or cracks will begin to show in the system. We already have seen the impact of immigration on housing prices in key areas like Toronto and Vancouver but we are seeing an increased strain on our health system as well with people unable to access care.

The mismanagement of this file brought about something I never thought I’d see — the Liberals broke the trust Canadians had in our system. For years there was a general consensus supporting high immigration levels based on a well-managed and fair system.

As we’ve seen with recent polling, Canadians are questioning the system now.

Unless the government gets a handle on this file, expect the questioning to turn hostile and support to fade away.

blilley@postmedia.com
1M+ legal immigrants to Canada in a year is fine. It's beats 10,000 illegals a day like the US.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
37,360
3,248
113
Feds announce temporary visas for people in Gaza with Canadian relatives
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Dec 21, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 1 minute read

OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Marc Miller says people in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives will now be able to apply for temporary visas to Canada, but the federal government cannot guarantee them safe passage out of the besieged Palestinian territory.


He expects the program to be up and running by Jan. 9.


Until now, the government has focused on getting 660 Canadians, permanent residents, and their spouses and children out of the Gaza Strip.

Miller says the government will start accepting applications for people with extended family connections to Canada, including parents, grandparents, siblings and grandchildren.

He says people will be offered three-year visas if they meet eligibility and admissibility criteria.

Miller says he’s not sure how many people will be able to come to Canada under the program, but he expects the number will be in the hundreds.
 

Taxslave2

House Member
Aug 13, 2022
3,506
2,096
113
Feds announce temporary visas for people in Gaza with Canadian relatives
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Dec 21, 2023 • Last updated 2 days ago • 1 minute read

OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Marc Miller says people in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian relatives will now be able to apply for temporary visas to Canada, but the federal government cannot guarantee them safe passage out of the besieged Palestinian territory.


He expects the program to be up and running by Jan. 9.


Until now, the government has focused on getting 660 Canadians, permanent residents, and their spouses and children out of the Gaza Strip.

Miller says the government will start accepting applications for people with extended family connections to Canada, including parents, grandparents, siblings and grandchildren.

He says people will be offered three-year visas if they meet eligibility and admissibility criteria.

Miller says he’s not sure how many people will be able to come to Canada under the program, but he expects the number will be in the hundreds.
So thousands more muzzie radicals that will vote for turdOWE. Citizenship or not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dixie Cup

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
25,641
9,234
113
Regina, Saskatchewan
So thousands more muzzie radicals that will vote for turdOWE. Citizenship or not.
Which country has the most Palestinian refugees?

Population figures
  • Jordan 3,240,000.
  • Israel 1,650,000.
  • Syria 630,000.
  • Chile 500,000 (largest Palestinian community outside the Middle East).
  • Lebanon 402,582.
  • Saudi Arabia 280,245.
  • Egypt 270,245.
  • United States 255,000 (the largest concentrations in Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles; History of Palestinians in Los Angeles).
  • Canada 50,975
(Canada has less than Yemen, but more than Australia)