Wait. . . your immigration department director was named Andy Griffith?
Well, there's your problem right there!
Well, there's your problem right there!
Refugee/Migrant Crisis
- Thread starter Tecumsehsbones
- Start date
This should be first Canadian election that focuses on migration
Mark Carney is bringing in people who support high migration policies. The Conservatives are breaking Canada's old taboo against talking about it.
Author of the article
ouglas Todd
Published Mar 27, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
The traditional Canadian “‘immigration consensus’ that more is always better” is weakening, says SFU political scientist Sanjay Jeram.
The traditional Canadian “‘immigration consensus’ that more is always better” is weakening, says SFU political scientist Sanjay Jeram.
A controversial appointment put migration in the headlines on the same weekend that Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a snap election.
The investment fund manager and former head of the Bank of Canada, who won the Liberal leadership contest two weeks ago, became the subject of news stories focusing on how he has chosen Mark Wiseman, an advocate for open borders, as a key adviser.
Wiseman is co-founder of the Century Initiative, a lobby group that aggressively advocates for Canada’s population to catapult to 100 million by 2100. Wiseman maintains Canada’s traditional method of “screening” people before allowing them into the country is “frankly, just a waste of time.” The immigration department’s checks, he says, are “just a bureaucracy.”
Wiseman believes migration policy should be left in the hands of business.
The appointment of Wiseman is an indication that Carney, a long-time champion of free trade in capital and labour, is gathering people around him who value exceptional migration levels and more foreign investment, including in housing.
Carney denied a charge by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre that bringing in Wiseman “shows that Mark Carney supports the Liberal Century Initiative to nearly triple our population to 100 million people. … That is the radical Liberal agenda on immigration.”
Carney tried this week to distance himself from the Century Initiative, telling reporters Wiseman will not be advising him on migration.
For years, migration issues have been taboo in Canada, says SFU political scientist Sanjay Jeram.
But the Canadian “‘immigration consensus’ that more is always better” is weakening, Jeram says. Most people believe “public opinion toward immigration has soured due to concerns that rapid population growth contributed to the housing and inflation crises.” But Jeram also thinks Canadian attitudes reflect expanding global skepticism.
Whatever the motivations, Poilievre says he would reduce immigration by roughly half, to 250,000 new citizens each year, the level before the Liberals were elected in 2015. The Conservative leader maintains the record volume of newcomers during Trudeau’s 10 years in power has fuelled the country’s housing and rental crisis.
Carney has said he would scale back the volume of immigration and temporary residents to pre-pandemic levels, which would leave them still much higher than when the Conservatives were in office.
What are the actual trends? After the Liberal came to power, immigration levels doubled and guest workers and foreign students increased by five times. Almost three million non-permanent residents now make up 7.3 per cent of the population, up from 1.4 per cent in 2015.
temp residents
The number of non-permanent residents in Canada when the Liberals were elected in 2015 was about 600,000. This year it’s almost three million. Chart suggests the potential impact if the Liberals follow through on vows to moderately reduce volumes. (Source: C.D. Howe Institute) Photo by C.D. Howe Institute
Meanwhile, a Leger poll this month confirmed resistance is rising. Now 58 per cent of Canadians believe migration levels are “too high.” And even half of those who have been in the country for less than a decade feel the same way.
Vancouver real-estate analyst Steve Saretsky says Carney’s embracing of a key player in the Century Initiative is a startling signal, given that migration numbers have been instrumental in pricing young people out of housing.
Saretsky worries the tariff wars started by U.S. President Donald Trump are an emotional “distraction,” making Canadian voters temporarily forget the centrality of housing. He says he is concerned Canadians may get “fooled again” by Liberal promises to slow migration, however moderately.
Bank of Canada economists James Cabral and Walter Steingress recently showed that a one per cent increase in population raises median housing prices by an average of 2.2 per cent — and in some cases by as much as six to eight per cent.
In addition to Carney’s appointment of Wiseman, what are the other signs he leans to lofty migration levels?
One is Carney’s choice of chief of staff: former immigration minister Marco Mendicino, who often boasted of how he was “making it easier” for newcomers to come to the country. Many labour economists said Mendicino’s policies, which brought in more low-skilled workers, did not make sense.
By 2023, the Liberals had a new immigration minister in Marc Miller, who began talking about reducing migration. But Carney dumped Miller out of his cabinet entirely, replacing him with backbench Montreal MP Rachel Bendayan. Prominent Waterloo University labour economist Mikal Skuterud finds it discouraging that Bendayan will be the sixth Liberal immigration minister in a decade.
New ministers, Skuterud said, are vulnerable to special interests, particularly from business.
“It’s a complicated portfolio,” Skuterud said this week. “You get captured by the private interests when you don’t really understand the system or the objectives. You’re just trying to play whack-a-mole, just trying to meet everybody’s needs.”
Skuterud is among the many economists who regret how record high levels of temporary workers have contributed to Canada being saddled with the weakest growth in GDP per capita among advanced economies.
Last week, high-profile Vancouver condo marketer Bob Rennie told an audience that he pitched Carney on a proposal to stimulate rental housing by offering a preferred rate from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp to offshore investors.
We also learned this week that Carney invited former Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson to run as a Liberal candidate. Robertson was mayor during the time that offshore capital, mostly from China, flooded into Vancouver’s housing market. When SFU researcher Andy Yan brought evidence of it to the public’s attention, Robertson said his study had “racist tones.” Two years later, however, Robertson admitted foreign capital had hit “like a ton of bricks.”
It’s notable that Carney, as head of the Bank of England until 2020, was one of the highest-profile campaigners against Brexit, the movement to leave the European Union.
Regardless of its long-lasting implications, Brexit was significantly fuelled by Britons who wanted to protect housing prices by better controlling migration levels, which were being elevated by the EU’s Schengen system, which allows the free movement of people within 29 participating countries.
For perhaps the first time, migration will be a bubbling issue this Canadian election.
While the link to housing prices gets much of the notice, SFU’s Jeram also believes “the negative framing of immigration in the U.S. and Europe likely activated latent concerns among Canadians. It made parties aware that immigration politics may no longer be received by the public as taboo.”
dtodd@postmedia.com
nsnews.com
cdhowe.org
torontosun.com
Mark Carney is bringing in people who support high migration policies. The Conservatives are breaking Canada's old taboo against talking about it.
Author of the article
ouglas ToddPublished Mar 27, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
The traditional Canadian “‘immigration consensus’ that more is always better” is weakening, says SFU political scientist Sanjay Jeram.
The traditional Canadian “‘immigration consensus’ that more is always better” is weakening, says SFU political scientist Sanjay Jeram.
A controversial appointment put migration in the headlines on the same weekend that Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a snap election.
The investment fund manager and former head of the Bank of Canada, who won the Liberal leadership contest two weeks ago, became the subject of news stories focusing on how he has chosen Mark Wiseman, an advocate for open borders, as a key adviser.
Wiseman is co-founder of the Century Initiative, a lobby group that aggressively advocates for Canada’s population to catapult to 100 million by 2100. Wiseman maintains Canada’s traditional method of “screening” people before allowing them into the country is “frankly, just a waste of time.” The immigration department’s checks, he says, are “just a bureaucracy.”
Wiseman believes migration policy should be left in the hands of business.
The appointment of Wiseman is an indication that Carney, a long-time champion of free trade in capital and labour, is gathering people around him who value exceptional migration levels and more foreign investment, including in housing.
Carney denied a charge by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre that bringing in Wiseman “shows that Mark Carney supports the Liberal Century Initiative to nearly triple our population to 100 million people. … That is the radical Liberal agenda on immigration.”
Carney tried this week to distance himself from the Century Initiative, telling reporters Wiseman will not be advising him on migration.
For years, migration issues have been taboo in Canada, says SFU political scientist Sanjay Jeram.
But the Canadian “‘immigration consensus’ that more is always better” is weakening, Jeram says. Most people believe “public opinion toward immigration has soured due to concerns that rapid population growth contributed to the housing and inflation crises.” But Jeram also thinks Canadian attitudes reflect expanding global skepticism.
Whatever the motivations, Poilievre says he would reduce immigration by roughly half, to 250,000 new citizens each year, the level before the Liberals were elected in 2015. The Conservative leader maintains the record volume of newcomers during Trudeau’s 10 years in power has fuelled the country’s housing and rental crisis.
Carney has said he would scale back the volume of immigration and temporary residents to pre-pandemic levels, which would leave them still much higher than when the Conservatives were in office.
What are the actual trends? After the Liberal came to power, immigration levels doubled and guest workers and foreign students increased by five times. Almost three million non-permanent residents now make up 7.3 per cent of the population, up from 1.4 per cent in 2015.
temp residents
The number of non-permanent residents in Canada when the Liberals were elected in 2015 was about 600,000. This year it’s almost three million. Chart suggests the potential impact if the Liberals follow through on vows to moderately reduce volumes. (Source: C.D. Howe Institute) Photo by C.D. Howe Institute
Meanwhile, a Leger poll this month confirmed resistance is rising. Now 58 per cent of Canadians believe migration levels are “too high.” And even half of those who have been in the country for less than a decade feel the same way.
Vancouver real-estate analyst Steve Saretsky says Carney’s embracing of a key player in the Century Initiative is a startling signal, given that migration numbers have been instrumental in pricing young people out of housing.
Saretsky worries the tariff wars started by U.S. President Donald Trump are an emotional “distraction,” making Canadian voters temporarily forget the centrality of housing. He says he is concerned Canadians may get “fooled again” by Liberal promises to slow migration, however moderately.
Bank of Canada economists James Cabral and Walter Steingress recently showed that a one per cent increase in population raises median housing prices by an average of 2.2 per cent — and in some cases by as much as six to eight per cent.
In addition to Carney’s appointment of Wiseman, what are the other signs he leans to lofty migration levels?
One is Carney’s choice of chief of staff: former immigration minister Marco Mendicino, who often boasted of how he was “making it easier” for newcomers to come to the country. Many labour economists said Mendicino’s policies, which brought in more low-skilled workers, did not make sense.
By 2023, the Liberals had a new immigration minister in Marc Miller, who began talking about reducing migration. But Carney dumped Miller out of his cabinet entirely, replacing him with backbench Montreal MP Rachel Bendayan. Prominent Waterloo University labour economist Mikal Skuterud finds it discouraging that Bendayan will be the sixth Liberal immigration minister in a decade.
New ministers, Skuterud said, are vulnerable to special interests, particularly from business.
“It’s a complicated portfolio,” Skuterud said this week. “You get captured by the private interests when you don’t really understand the system or the objectives. You’re just trying to play whack-a-mole, just trying to meet everybody’s needs.”
Skuterud is among the many economists who regret how record high levels of temporary workers have contributed to Canada being saddled with the weakest growth in GDP per capita among advanced economies.
Last week, high-profile Vancouver condo marketer Bob Rennie told an audience that he pitched Carney on a proposal to stimulate rental housing by offering a preferred rate from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp to offshore investors.
We also learned this week that Carney invited former Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson to run as a Liberal candidate. Robertson was mayor during the time that offshore capital, mostly from China, flooded into Vancouver’s housing market. When SFU researcher Andy Yan brought evidence of it to the public’s attention, Robertson said his study had “racist tones.” Two years later, however, Robertson admitted foreign capital had hit “like a ton of bricks.”
It’s notable that Carney, as head of the Bank of England until 2020, was one of the highest-profile campaigners against Brexit, the movement to leave the European Union.
Regardless of its long-lasting implications, Brexit was significantly fuelled by Britons who wanted to protect housing prices by better controlling migration levels, which were being elevated by the EU’s Schengen system, which allows the free movement of people within 29 participating countries.
For perhaps the first time, migration will be a bubbling issue this Canadian election.
While the link to housing prices gets much of the notice, SFU’s Jeram also believes “the negative framing of immigration in the U.S. and Europe likely activated latent concerns among Canadians. It made parties aware that immigration politics may no longer be received by the public as taboo.”
dtodd@postmedia.com
B.C. condo king Bob Rennie pitches incoming PM on foreign investment in rentals
Rennie seeks CMHC involvement to attract foreign buyers for long-term rentals
nsnews.com
Why More Immigration Didn’t Solve Canada’s Labour Shortages – C.D. Howe Institute
From: Pierre FortinTo: Labour force observersDate: March 21, 2025Re: Why More Immigration Didn’t Solve Canada’s Labour Shortages From 2015 to 2023, the federal government allowed immigration levels to increase fivefold, mostly through a significant rise in temporary immigration. By the end of...
cdhowe.org
This should be the first Canadian election that focuses on migration
Opinion: Carney is bringing in people who support high migration policies. The Tories are breaking an old taboo against talking about it.
Woman accused of killing three in Ontario unfit to stand trial, court rules
Sabrina Kauldhar has been ordered into a 60-day psychiatric treatment before she'll be reassessed
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Mar 28, 2025 • 1 minute read
SERIAL KILLER? Sabrina Kauldhar was arrested Thursday in the Burlington area. She has been charged with three murders in Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Falls.
Sabrina Kauldhar was arrested Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in the Burlington area. She has been charged with murder in connection with separate slayings in Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Falls.
A Toronto court has ruled that a woman accused of killing three people in three Ontario cities last year is unfit to stand trial at this time and must undergo psychiatric treatment.
Sabrina Kauldhar, 30, was arrested in October and charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
The charges relate to three deaths police have said took place over three consecutive days in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton in early October.
Court documents show that a judge ruled Thursday that Kauldhar is unfit to stand trial at this time, and she has been ordered into a 60-day psychiatric treatment before she’ll be reassessed.
The Ontario court of justice had ordered the assessment of Kauldhar’s fitness to stand trial following an application by the prosecution.
Defence lawyers had initially asked for the assessment, but withdrew their application saying Kauldhar had instructed them to oppose it.
torontosun.com
Sabrina Kauldhar has been ordered into a 60-day psychiatric treatment before she'll be reassessed
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Published Mar 28, 2025 • 1 minute read
SERIAL KILLER? Sabrina Kauldhar was arrested Thursday in the Burlington area. She has been charged with three murders in Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Falls.
Sabrina Kauldhar was arrested Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in the Burlington area. She has been charged with murder in connection with separate slayings in Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Falls.
A Toronto court has ruled that a woman accused of killing three people in three Ontario cities last year is unfit to stand trial at this time and must undergo psychiatric treatment.
Sabrina Kauldhar, 30, was arrested in October and charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
The charges relate to three deaths police have said took place over three consecutive days in Toronto, Niagara Falls and Hamilton in early October.
Court documents show that a judge ruled Thursday that Kauldhar is unfit to stand trial at this time, and she has been ordered into a 60-day psychiatric treatment before she’ll be reassessed.
The Ontario court of justice had ordered the assessment of Kauldhar’s fitness to stand trial following an application by the prosecution.
Defence lawyers had initially asked for the assessment, but withdrew their application saying Kauldhar had instructed them to oppose it.
Woman accused of killing three in Ontario unfit to stand trial, court rules
Sabrina Kauldhar has been ordered into a 60-day psychiatric treatment before she'll be reassessed
So now we get stuck with deporting her.
youtube.com
She is here illegally. There is no way in Hell she got a tourist visa on an revoked US student visa.
Indian citizens require a visa to enter Canada for tourism, and the specific type of visa depends on the purpose and duration of their visit.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Visa Requirement:
All Indian nationals, including tourists, need a valid visa to enter Canada.
Visa Types:
The type of visa you need depends on your reason for visiting Canada, such as tourism, work, or study.
Application Process:
You'll need to complete an online application form, gather the required documents, and pay the application fee.
Processing Time:
The visa processing time can vary, but it generally takes 2 to 4 months.
Required Documents:
You'll need to provide documents like your passport, photos, proof of funds, travel itinerary, and possibly other documents depending on your specific situation.
Where to Apply:
You can apply for a Canadian visa through the official website of the Canadian government or through a visa service provider.
Fees:
There are fees associated with the visa application and biometric collection.
Biometrics:
You may need to provide your fingerprints and a photograph as part of the visa application process.
Validity:
The validity of a Canada Visitor Visa is six months.
DHS agents search Columbia student's apartment
Video captured by Ranjani Srinivasan’s roommate shows DHS agents raiding the Columbia student’s apartment after her student visa was unexpectedly revoked and...
youtube.com
She is here illegally. There is no way in Hell she got a tourist visa on an revoked US student visa.
Indian citizens require a visa to enter Canada for tourism, and the specific type of visa depends on the purpose and duration of their visit.
Here's a more detailed explanation:
Visa Requirement:
All Indian nationals, including tourists, need a valid visa to enter Canada.
Visa Types:
The type of visa you need depends on your reason for visiting Canada, such as tourism, work, or study.
Application Process:
You'll need to complete an online application form, gather the required documents, and pay the application fee.
Processing Time:
The visa processing time can vary, but it generally takes 2 to 4 months.
Required Documents:
You'll need to provide documents like your passport, photos, proof of funds, travel itinerary, and possibly other documents depending on your specific situation.
Where to Apply:
You can apply for a Canadian visa through the official website of the Canadian government or through a visa service provider.
Fees:
There are fees associated with the visa application and biometric collection.
Biometrics:
You may need to provide your fingerprints and a photograph as part of the visa application process.
Validity:
The validity of a Canada Visitor Visa is six months.
Admitted Mexican hitman flees U.S. for Canada, makes refugee claim
A Mexican with alleged cartel links is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. cop he was a hitman.
Author of the article:Kim Bolan
Published Apr 03, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
The La Familia Michoacana Cartel logo. A Mexican with alleged cartel ties is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. police officer that 'he was a hitman for hire.'
The La Familia Michoacana Cartel logo. A Mexican with alleged cartel ties is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. police officer that 'he was a hitman for hire.' Photo Supplied/ALERT
A Mexican with alleged cartel ties is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. police officer that “he was a hitman for hire.”
The man, identified only as C.M. in Federal Court of Canada documents, also provided the cop with “information concerning his fees, method and disposal techniques,” Justice Julie Blackhawk noted in a ruling released Tuesday.
The federal public safety minister asked for a judicial review of a March 7 decision by Immigration and Refugee Board member Maleeka Mohamed who said C.M. could be released from detention on conditions as his claim is processed.
The minister said Mohamed minimized C.M.’s danger to the public “as a drug trafficker and a known associate of the terrorist entity La Familia Michoacana Cartel.”
Blackhawk agreed in her April 1 ruling, saying parts of Mohamed’s decision to release the admitted hitman were “unreasonable, unintelligible and not justified.” She ordered the case be sent back to another IRB member for review.
The 42-year-old claimant crossed the border into Canada in February with his minor child — a dual U.S. and Mexican citizen.
C.M. had been deported from Canada on April 7, 2015, because of his connections to two separate B.C. criminal investigations.
“In 2011, the respondent was found by the Vancouver Police Department to be in possession of a significant quantity of controlled substances and paraphernalia. He was arrested, but no charges were brought,” the Federal Court decision said.
“In 2014, the VPD and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were engaged in a lengthy investigation into organized crime and drug trafficking. The respondent was present at a meeting where a controlled substance was purchased. In a recording taken by an undercover officer, the respondent stated that he was a hitman for hire.”
Many of the documents entered in the federal case are sealed to protect the identity of the child, who is now staying with relatives in B.C.
But one source said Thursday that no charges were ever laid in the 2014 investigation into the alleged cocaine smuggling operations of some B.C.-based La Familia cartel members because of some issues that arose during the probe.
However, police alerted the Canada Border Services Agency about C.M.’s purported hitman confession. He was arrested on Nov. 4, 2014.
In December 2014, Postmedia News reported on the presence in B.C. of La Familia and Sinaloa cartel members, who police said at the time were working with local criminal organizations to smuggle and sell cocaine and other drugs.
Both cartels were designated terrorist groups by the Canadian government on Feb. 20 — a week after C.M. returned to the country.
C.M. initially came to Canada on a temporary work visa in September 2006 for a job at a Best Western hotel. The visa expired in December 2006 but he stayed until his removal almost nine years later.
In October 2021, he managed to get a U.S. visa to visit his son’s mother, the Federal Court ruling said. The U.S. visa was revoked in February “because he was unlawfully in the U.S. longer than 180 days and made misrepresentations on his visa application.”
Instead of returning to Mexico, he crossed into Canada at “an unofficial port of entry” and “made a claim for refugee protection based on fear of the child’s mother and fears that the Trump administration would separate the respondent from his child,” the ruling said.
He gave border officials the name of a contact in Canada, who was one of the men targeted in the 2014 investigation. The federal government argued before Blackhawk that C.M.’s comment was an indicator that he had continuing ties with the terrorist group.
Blackhawk agreed and said Mohamed’s “conclusion that the passage of time and lack of criminal charges mitigates against the danger to the public, considering other relevant/contradictory evidence that indicated the respondent has ongoing ties to former associates from La Familia, is unreasonable.”
She also agreed that in ordering C.M.’s release, Mohamed “failed to grapple with important evidence concerning the respondent’s criminal activity, namely his own evidence to an undercover officer in 2014 that he was a hitman.”
kbolan@postmedia.com
x.com/kbolan
Bluesky: @kimbolan.bsky.social
decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca
torontosun.com
A Mexican with alleged cartel links is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. cop he was a hitman.
Author of the article:Kim Bolan
Published Apr 03, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
The La Familia Michoacana Cartel logo. A Mexican with alleged cartel ties is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. police officer that 'he was a hitman for hire.'
The La Familia Michoacana Cartel logo. A Mexican with alleged cartel ties is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. police officer that 'he was a hitman for hire.' Photo Supplied/ALERT
A Mexican with alleged cartel ties is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. police officer that “he was a hitman for hire.”
The man, identified only as C.M. in Federal Court of Canada documents, also provided the cop with “information concerning his fees, method and disposal techniques,” Justice Julie Blackhawk noted in a ruling released Tuesday.
The federal public safety minister asked for a judicial review of a March 7 decision by Immigration and Refugee Board member Maleeka Mohamed who said C.M. could be released from detention on conditions as his claim is processed.
The minister said Mohamed minimized C.M.’s danger to the public “as a drug trafficker and a known associate of the terrorist entity La Familia Michoacana Cartel.”
Blackhawk agreed in her April 1 ruling, saying parts of Mohamed’s decision to release the admitted hitman were “unreasonable, unintelligible and not justified.” She ordered the case be sent back to another IRB member for review.
The 42-year-old claimant crossed the border into Canada in February with his minor child — a dual U.S. and Mexican citizen.
C.M. had been deported from Canada on April 7, 2015, because of his connections to two separate B.C. criminal investigations.
“In 2011, the respondent was found by the Vancouver Police Department to be in possession of a significant quantity of controlled substances and paraphernalia. He was arrested, but no charges were brought,” the Federal Court decision said.
“In 2014, the VPD and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were engaged in a lengthy investigation into organized crime and drug trafficking. The respondent was present at a meeting where a controlled substance was purchased. In a recording taken by an undercover officer, the respondent stated that he was a hitman for hire.”
Many of the documents entered in the federal case are sealed to protect the identity of the child, who is now staying with relatives in B.C.
But one source said Thursday that no charges were ever laid in the 2014 investigation into the alleged cocaine smuggling operations of some B.C.-based La Familia cartel members because of some issues that arose during the probe.
However, police alerted the Canada Border Services Agency about C.M.’s purported hitman confession. He was arrested on Nov. 4, 2014.
In December 2014, Postmedia News reported on the presence in B.C. of La Familia and Sinaloa cartel members, who police said at the time were working with local criminal organizations to smuggle and sell cocaine and other drugs.
Both cartels were designated terrorist groups by the Canadian government on Feb. 20 — a week after C.M. returned to the country.
C.M. initially came to Canada on a temporary work visa in September 2006 for a job at a Best Western hotel. The visa expired in December 2006 but he stayed until his removal almost nine years later.
In October 2021, he managed to get a U.S. visa to visit his son’s mother, the Federal Court ruling said. The U.S. visa was revoked in February “because he was unlawfully in the U.S. longer than 180 days and made misrepresentations on his visa application.”
Instead of returning to Mexico, he crossed into Canada at “an unofficial port of entry” and “made a claim for refugee protection based on fear of the child’s mother and fears that the Trump administration would separate the respondent from his child,” the ruling said.
He gave border officials the name of a contact in Canada, who was one of the men targeted in the 2014 investigation. The federal government argued before Blackhawk that C.M.’s comment was an indicator that he had continuing ties with the terrorist group.
Blackhawk agreed and said Mohamed’s “conclusion that the passage of time and lack of criminal charges mitigates against the danger to the public, considering other relevant/contradictory evidence that indicated the respondent has ongoing ties to former associates from La Familia, is unreasonable.”
She also agreed that in ordering C.M.’s release, Mohamed “failed to grapple with important evidence concerning the respondent’s criminal activity, namely his own evidence to an undercover officer in 2014 that he was a hitman.”
kbolan@postmedia.com
x.com/kbolan
Bluesky: @kimbolan.bsky.social
Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) v. CM - Federal Court
Admitted Mexican hitman flees U.S. for Canada, makes refugee claim
A Mexican with alleged cartel links is seeking refugee status in Canada — a decade after he told an undercover B.C. cop he was a hitman.