I like some accents.i would rather hear the stephen hawking accent than a foreign accent.
Refugee/Migrant Crisis
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- Start date
One in five recent Canadian immigrants lived below poverty line in 2022, says StatCan
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Sarah Smellie
Published Feb 06, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
The number of visits to Toronto's food banks is now higher than the entire population of the city.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — One in five recent immigrants lived below the poverty line in Canada in 2022, and most of them were in “deep poverty,” according to a report Thursday from Statistics Canada.
The report studied rates of deep poverty across large sections of the Canadian population, and found it prevalent among recent immigrants, people with disabilities, one-parent families and single people who don’t live with family.
StatCan says a family or a person lives in poverty if they can’t afford the cost of a basket of goods and services that represents a basic standard of living. They are in deep poverty if their income falls below 75 per cent of that threshold.
“This confirms what front-line organizations have been witnessing for years,” said Janet Madume, executive director of the Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre in Ontario.
“Poverty among immigrants is not a personal failure, it’s a systemic failure,” she said. “And without intervention, it’s going to constantly worsen.”
Among the provinces, the report found that Nova Scotia had the highest rate of poverty, with 12.5 per cent of the population in 2022 unable to afford the basic basket of goods. British Columbia had the second-highest poverty rate at 12.2 per cent, followed by Manitoba at 11.9 per cent, and Newfoundland and Labrador at 11.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, 6.9 per cent of people in Manitoba lived in deep poverty, which is the highest rate among the provinces.
In other demographics, nearly a quarter of one-parent families lived in poverty, and 10 per cent lived in deep poverty.
About 60 per cent of Canadians below the poverty line lived with a disability, the report said.
Almost half of Canadians in poverty — 46.1 per cent — were on their own, outside of an “economic family,” defined as a group of two or more people related by blood, marriage or other legal arrangement such as common-law marriage.
Josh Smee, chief executive of non-profit Food First Newfoundland and Labrador, said single, working-age adults are often left out of poverty-alleviation measures, often for political reasons. Relief programs directed specifically toward single working-age adults may not be as popular with the public as those for other groups prone to food insecurity or poverty, such as single parents or people with disabilities, he said in a recent interview.
“There’s a real challenge in addressing the same issues with single folks, especially working-age single folks, because you risk that ’They should just get a job’ pushback, which obviously oversimplifies the situation,” Smee said.
However, he noted there is wide public support for policy changes that would address poverty among most groups — including single people — such as increasing benefit programs and minimum wages. “People are very supportive of those kinds of interventions _ maybe more so than decision makers,” he said.
Wide-reaching policy changes to increase incomes for everyone would also help alleviate some poverty among immigrants and other newcomers, said Madume. But recent immigrants still face a unique set of barriers, including systemic racism. Many arrive in Canada with years of professional experience and qualifications that aren’t recognized by employers or institutions, she said.
Often, the only jobs available are low-wage, precarious positions or gig work. And like the rest of Canadians, new immigrants must grapple with housing shortages, rents outpacing incomes and a lack of policies to alleviate those pressures, such as rent control, she said.
Madume said more disaggregated, race-based data is needed on employment, income, poverty and a host of other factors to really understand how newcomers are faring in Canada.
“We need to start acting, and we are urging every level of government to act urgently to address the root causes of (poverty among immigrants),” she said.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Sarah Smellie
Published Feb 06, 2025 • Last updated 2 days ago • 3 minute read
The number of visits to Toronto's food banks is now higher than the entire population of the city.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — One in five recent immigrants lived below the poverty line in Canada in 2022, and most of them were in “deep poverty,” according to a report Thursday from Statistics Canada.
The report studied rates of deep poverty across large sections of the Canadian population, and found it prevalent among recent immigrants, people with disabilities, one-parent families and single people who don’t live with family.
StatCan says a family or a person lives in poverty if they can’t afford the cost of a basket of goods and services that represents a basic standard of living. They are in deep poverty if their income falls below 75 per cent of that threshold.
“This confirms what front-line organizations have been witnessing for years,” said Janet Madume, executive director of the Welland Heritage Council and Multicultural Centre in Ontario.
“Poverty among immigrants is not a personal failure, it’s a systemic failure,” she said. “And without intervention, it’s going to constantly worsen.”
Among the provinces, the report found that Nova Scotia had the highest rate of poverty, with 12.5 per cent of the population in 2022 unable to afford the basic basket of goods. British Columbia had the second-highest poverty rate at 12.2 per cent, followed by Manitoba at 11.9 per cent, and Newfoundland and Labrador at 11.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, 6.9 per cent of people in Manitoba lived in deep poverty, which is the highest rate among the provinces.
In other demographics, nearly a quarter of one-parent families lived in poverty, and 10 per cent lived in deep poverty.
About 60 per cent of Canadians below the poverty line lived with a disability, the report said.
Almost half of Canadians in poverty — 46.1 per cent — were on their own, outside of an “economic family,” defined as a group of two or more people related by blood, marriage or other legal arrangement such as common-law marriage.
Josh Smee, chief executive of non-profit Food First Newfoundland and Labrador, said single, working-age adults are often left out of poverty-alleviation measures, often for political reasons. Relief programs directed specifically toward single working-age adults may not be as popular with the public as those for other groups prone to food insecurity or poverty, such as single parents or people with disabilities, he said in a recent interview.
“There’s a real challenge in addressing the same issues with single folks, especially working-age single folks, because you risk that ’They should just get a job’ pushback, which obviously oversimplifies the situation,” Smee said.
However, he noted there is wide public support for policy changes that would address poverty among most groups — including single people — such as increasing benefit programs and minimum wages. “People are very supportive of those kinds of interventions _ maybe more so than decision makers,” he said.
Wide-reaching policy changes to increase incomes for everyone would also help alleviate some poverty among immigrants and other newcomers, said Madume. But recent immigrants still face a unique set of barriers, including systemic racism. Many arrive in Canada with years of professional experience and qualifications that aren’t recognized by employers or institutions, she said.
Often, the only jobs available are low-wage, precarious positions or gig work. And like the rest of Canadians, new immigrants must grapple with housing shortages, rents outpacing incomes and a lack of policies to alleviate those pressures, such as rent control, she said.
Madume said more disaggregated, race-based data is needed on employment, income, poverty and a host of other factors to really understand how newcomers are faring in Canada.
“We need to start acting, and we are urging every level of government to act urgently to address the root causes of (poverty among immigrants),” she said.
One in five recent Canadian immigrants lived below poverty line in 2022, says StatCan
One in five recent immigrants lived below the poverty line in Canada in 2022, and most of them were in “deep poverty.”
Case involving Prince Harry’s immigration paperwork inches forward
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Ashraf Khalil
Published Feb 05, 2025 • 2 minute read
WASHINGTON — A federal judge is considering next steps in a slow-moving court case over whether to release documents that could spell legal trouble for Prince Harry, with an influential conservative think tank seeking to reveal if he lied on his immigration paperwork about past drug use or received special treatment to enter the country.
The case before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols centers on the circumstances under which Harry — the Duke of Sussex and the son of King Charles III — entered the United States when he and his wife Meghan Markle moved to Southern California in 2020. The Heritage Foundation sued after the Department of Homeland Security largely rejected its Freedom of Information Act request to release Harry’s records. Harry is not a party in the lawsuit.
“We believe the American people have a right to know whether Prince Harry was truthful on his application,” said Nile Gardiner, head of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.
Heritage has argued there is “intense public interest” in whether Harry received special treatment during the application process, particularly after his 2023 memoir “Spare” revealed past drug use.
Harry says in “Spare” that he took cocaine several times starting around age 17, in order “to feel. To be different.” He also acknowledged using cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms.
The U.S. routinely asks about drug use on its visa applications, and it has been linked to travel headaches for celebrities, including chef Nigella Lawson, singer Amy Winehouse and model Kate Moss. Acknowledgment of past drug use doesn’t necessarily bar people from entering or staying in the country, but answering untruthfully can have serious consequences.
“If he lied, that gets you deported,” Heritage’s attorney Samuel Dewey told reporters after the hearing. “People are routinely deported for lying on immigration forms.”
Dewey said it’s also possible that Harry was truthful about his prior drug use on his application, and received either an internal DHS waiver or some sort of diplomatic visa from the State Department. Both options are legal but would leave the government and Harry open to accusations of special treatment.
Wednesday’s hearing before Judge Nichols focused largely on how to handle a trio of sworn statements from DHS officials on why the agency was fighting the records request. Those statements have not been seen by the Heritage legal team, and Nichols is considering whether to release part or all of those declarations to the Heritage Foundation. The judge — who has been shown some, but not all, of Harry’s immigration records — said he’s also considering whether to request more records from the government and whether to call in an outside expert as a consultant.
Nichols said he’s seeking to strike a balance between revealing too much information in the DHS statements and redacting them to the point of meaninglessness.
“There’s a point where redactions would leave just a name or a date,” he said.
Gardiner said he was also appealing to President Donald Trump — who made immigration security a centerpiece of his campaign — to end the case by simply ordering the release of Harry’s paperwork.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Ashraf Khalil
Published Feb 05, 2025 • 2 minute read
WASHINGTON — A federal judge is considering next steps in a slow-moving court case over whether to release documents that could spell legal trouble for Prince Harry, with an influential conservative think tank seeking to reveal if he lied on his immigration paperwork about past drug use or received special treatment to enter the country.
The case before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols centers on the circumstances under which Harry — the Duke of Sussex and the son of King Charles III — entered the United States when he and his wife Meghan Markle moved to Southern California in 2020. The Heritage Foundation sued after the Department of Homeland Security largely rejected its Freedom of Information Act request to release Harry’s records. Harry is not a party in the lawsuit.
“We believe the American people have a right to know whether Prince Harry was truthful on his application,” said Nile Gardiner, head of the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.
Heritage has argued there is “intense public interest” in whether Harry received special treatment during the application process, particularly after his 2023 memoir “Spare” revealed past drug use.
Harry says in “Spare” that he took cocaine several times starting around age 17, in order “to feel. To be different.” He also acknowledged using cannabis and psychedelic mushrooms.
The U.S. routinely asks about drug use on its visa applications, and it has been linked to travel headaches for celebrities, including chef Nigella Lawson, singer Amy Winehouse and model Kate Moss. Acknowledgment of past drug use doesn’t necessarily bar people from entering or staying in the country, but answering untruthfully can have serious consequences.
“If he lied, that gets you deported,” Heritage’s attorney Samuel Dewey told reporters after the hearing. “People are routinely deported for lying on immigration forms.”
Dewey said it’s also possible that Harry was truthful about his prior drug use on his application, and received either an internal DHS waiver or some sort of diplomatic visa from the State Department. Both options are legal but would leave the government and Harry open to accusations of special treatment.
Wednesday’s hearing before Judge Nichols focused largely on how to handle a trio of sworn statements from DHS officials on why the agency was fighting the records request. Those statements have not been seen by the Heritage legal team, and Nichols is considering whether to release part or all of those declarations to the Heritage Foundation. The judge — who has been shown some, but not all, of Harry’s immigration records — said he’s also considering whether to request more records from the government and whether to call in an outside expert as a consultant.
Nichols said he’s seeking to strike a balance between revealing too much information in the DHS statements and redacting them to the point of meaninglessness.
“There’s a point where redactions would leave just a name or a date,” he said.
Gardiner said he was also appealing to President Donald Trump — who made immigration security a centerpiece of his campaign — to end the case by simply ordering the release of Harry’s paperwork.
Case involving Prince Harry’s immigration paperwork inches forward
A federal judge is considering next steps in a court case over whether to release documents that could spell legal trouble for Prince Harry
Newly unsealed documents reveal more details of prosecutors’ evidence in 9/11 attacks
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Ellen Knickmeyer
Published Feb 06, 2025 • 2 minute read
WASHINGTON — Newly unsealed documents give one of the most detailed views yet of the evidence gathered on the accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, including how prosecutors allege he and others interacted with the hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The summaries of evidence released Thursday include Mohammed’s own statements over the years, phone records and other documents alleging coordination between Mohammed and the hijackers, videos included in al-Qaida’s planning for the attacks and prosecutors’ summaries of government simulations of the flights of the four airliners that day. But few other details were given.
Also to be presented are the photos and death certificates of 2,976 people killed that day at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field, where the fourth airliner commandeered by the al-Qaida hijackers smashed into the ground after a revolt by passengers.
The newly revealed framework of military prosecutors’ potential case against Mohammed, who prosecutors say conceived of and executed much of al-Qaida’s attack, is contained in a plea agreement that the Defense Department is battling in court to roll back.
Mohammed and two co-defendants agreed in the plea deal with military prosecutors to plead guilty in the attack in return for life sentences.
The Associated Press, The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, Fox News, NBC and Univision are suing to get the plea bargains unsealed. The summaries of the prosecution evidence were released Thursday in a partially redacted version of Mohammed’s agreement.
The evidence summaries point to the possibility of additional revelations about the attacks yet to come.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors, defence and the senior Pentagon official overseeing the cases at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, agreed to an unusual step — a hearing that would allow them to make public the evidence compiled against the three.
It appears designed to address complaints from families and others that a plea bargain typically would otherwise keep the evidence from fully being revealed.
Another unusual part of the deal mandated Mohammed to agree to answer questions from the families of victims.
Military prosecutors, defence attorneys and Guantanamo officials negotiated the deal over two years under government auspices. The negotiations were an attempt to bring a resolution to the 9/11 case, which has remained in pretrial hearings for more than two decades since the attacks.
Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin interceded to try to void the plea agreement after it was announced, saying that waiving the possibility of the death penalty in so grave an attack was a decision that defence secretaries should handle.
Federal court hearings in the Defense Department’s attempts to roll back the plea agreements are ongoing.
Legal arguments over whether the sustained torture that Mohammed and other 9/11 defendants underwent in CIA custody has rendered their statements in the case inadmissible and has slowed the case. So have repeated staffing changes at the Guantanamo court and the logistical difficulties of holding a trial in a courtroom a plane flight away from the U.S.
— Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister contributed reporting from New York.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Ellen Knickmeyer
Published Feb 06, 2025 • 2 minute read
WASHINGTON — Newly unsealed documents give one of the most detailed views yet of the evidence gathered on the accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, including how prosecutors allege he and others interacted with the hijackers who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
The summaries of evidence released Thursday include Mohammed’s own statements over the years, phone records and other documents alleging coordination between Mohammed and the hijackers, videos included in al-Qaida’s planning for the attacks and prosecutors’ summaries of government simulations of the flights of the four airliners that day. But few other details were given.
Also to be presented are the photos and death certificates of 2,976 people killed that day at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field, where the fourth airliner commandeered by the al-Qaida hijackers smashed into the ground after a revolt by passengers.
The newly revealed framework of military prosecutors’ potential case against Mohammed, who prosecutors say conceived of and executed much of al-Qaida’s attack, is contained in a plea agreement that the Defense Department is battling in court to roll back.
Mohammed and two co-defendants agreed in the plea deal with military prosecutors to plead guilty in the attack in return for life sentences.
The Associated Press, The New York Times, NPR, The Washington Post, Fox News, NBC and Univision are suing to get the plea bargains unsealed. The summaries of the prosecution evidence were released Thursday in a partially redacted version of Mohammed’s agreement.
The evidence summaries point to the possibility of additional revelations about the attacks yet to come.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors, defence and the senior Pentagon official overseeing the cases at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, agreed to an unusual step — a hearing that would allow them to make public the evidence compiled against the three.
It appears designed to address complaints from families and others that a plea bargain typically would otherwise keep the evidence from fully being revealed.
Another unusual part of the deal mandated Mohammed to agree to answer questions from the families of victims.
Military prosecutors, defence attorneys and Guantanamo officials negotiated the deal over two years under government auspices. The negotiations were an attempt to bring a resolution to the 9/11 case, which has remained in pretrial hearings for more than two decades since the attacks.
Then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin interceded to try to void the plea agreement after it was announced, saying that waiving the possibility of the death penalty in so grave an attack was a decision that defence secretaries should handle.
Federal court hearings in the Defense Department’s attempts to roll back the plea agreements are ongoing.
Legal arguments over whether the sustained torture that Mohammed and other 9/11 defendants underwent in CIA custody has rendered their statements in the case inadmissible and has slowed the case. So have repeated staffing changes at the Guantanamo court and the logistical difficulties of holding a trial in a courtroom a plane flight away from the U.S.
— Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister contributed reporting from New York.
Newly unsealed documents reveal more details of prosecutors’ evidence in 9/11 attacks
Unsealed documents give one of the most detailed views yet of the evidence gathered on the accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,
With friends like the Canadian Border Services, we don't need enemies
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Feb 10, 2025 • Last updated 20 hours ago • 3 minute read
"STUDENT": Accused assassin Karan Brar. Somehow, CBSA missed him.
"STUDENT": Accused assassin Karan Brar. Somehow, CBSA missed him.
What does the Canada Border Services Agency do? Really.
Not much, if recent headlines are any indication.
Daily, some accused criminal or another is reported to have slipped over the border to commit some crime or another in this country. CBSA does not appear remotely ashamed of dropping the ball on the safety of Canadians.
“The most important thing for the CBSA is not to appear racist,” one cop told me. “The fact that some of the illegals coming in are here to commit violent crimes is besides the point.”
Cocaine bust
The OPP seized nearly 300 kilograms of cocaine worth $29 million after a 5-month long investigation known as Project Shearwater into a GTA cocaine trafficking network. Five men face 12 charges.
If allegations against him are true, take Mexican national Javier Luis Martinez-Hernandez, 29, of London. He was charged a week ago for his alleged role in a $29-million cocaine bust in the Toronto area. Martinez-Hernandez is subject to a removal order issued by CBSA, cops said.
Of course, the agency wouldn’t provide any details because … uh, privacy.
But a fair question to ask is this: How did he get into the country?
In January, three men from Chile were busted after a botched carjacking in York Region. The three amigos allegedly rammed the victim’s car from behind.
Carlos Carvajal Moya, 22, Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, and Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, all of Chile, are accused of an attempted carjacking in King Township on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
Carlos Carvajal Moya, 22, Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, and Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, all of Chile, are accused of an attempted carjacking in King Township on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
When the victim exited the vehicle, he was faced with two men wearing masks — one was brandishing a gun. The thugs attempted to steal the vehicle but failed and fled with other items of the victim’s property.
Two were busted in Toronto while the third suspect was nabbed by Homeland Security in Texas and returned to York Regional Police.
Charged are Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, and Carlos Carvajal Moya, also 22. They’ve been hit with charges of armed robbery, stolen property, and unlawful use of a credit card. None of the charges have been tested in court.
Say what you want about Lajos Galamb, but if police allegations are true, the Toronto man has the work ethic of a devout Calvinist.
Lajos Galamb, 24, of Toronto, has been charged in connection with break-ins at three separate car dealerships in the Keele St.-Steeles Ave. area between Dec. 29, 2024, and Jan. 12, 2025.
But a fair question to ask is this: How did they get into the country?
Last week, I wrote about the industrious Lajos Galamb.
Despite his murky immigration status, the 24-year-old Hungarian — on house arrest since 2023 — allegedly went on a break-in frenzy. He was hit with 193 charges in a year’s worth of break-and-enters in Toronto.
You can toss in charges for another 195 break-ins in Waterloo, Guelph, London, York, Peel, and Durham regions. While under house arrest.
Toronto Police Association vice-president Brian Callanan could be forgiven for asking: “How many charges do police have to lay before this guy is held in custody?”
Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar, charged in relation to the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A lot is the correct answer. In 2018, he was busted with two fellow Hungarians for stealing metal from property in the Cobourg area. Bizarrely, there is no record of his arrests, charges or immigration status.
Galamb got a conditional discharge and probation for theft under in 2023. He also has matters from 2021 and 2022 still before the courts.
None of the most recent charges have been tested in court.
But a fair question to ask is this: Why is he still in the country?
Goldy Brar and Sidhu Moose Wala.
WELCOME! Alleged gangster Goldy Brar made Canada home. One of his alleged victims was Sidhu Moose Wala.
More frightening, it isn’t just property crimes that get the old blow-off from the CBSA and the courts. Hardcore violent crimes also fall under the sinister see-no-evil compact.
For example, the June 2023 rubout of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, who was shot to death by three men allegedly at the behest of the Indian government. The trio were allegedly in Canada on student visas. The case is still before the courts.
Citing the Privacy Act, CBSA told The Toronto Sun the agency could not comment on specific immigration cases but said that “all persons seeking entry to Canada are examined by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and must demonstrate they meet the requirements to enter.”
CBSA added that admissibility is based on the information available at entry. Travellers must have documentation explaining their reason for coming to Canada and other relevant information.
“If information comes to light that an individual who was granted entry to Canada may be inadmissible, the CBSA can launch an investigation and initiate appropriate enforcement action,” the agency said. “The CBSA has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals who are inadmissible to Canada under the IRPA.”
The CBSA said the most serious inadmissibility issues include “criminality, national security, war crimes, humans rights violations and organized crime.”
Game, set and match, right?
If allegations against them prove to be true, the above cases are just the tip of the iceberg. It appears someone thought it was a good idea to let these people into Canada.
Again, the question is: What are they doing here? And what is the CBSA doing about it?
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Feb 10, 2025 • Last updated 20 hours ago • 3 minute read
"STUDENT": Accused assassin Karan Brar. Somehow, CBSA missed him.
"STUDENT": Accused assassin Karan Brar. Somehow, CBSA missed him.
What does the Canada Border Services Agency do? Really.
Not much, if recent headlines are any indication.
Daily, some accused criminal or another is reported to have slipped over the border to commit some crime or another in this country. CBSA does not appear remotely ashamed of dropping the ball on the safety of Canadians.
“The most important thing for the CBSA is not to appear racist,” one cop told me. “The fact that some of the illegals coming in are here to commit violent crimes is besides the point.”
Cocaine bust
The OPP seized nearly 300 kilograms of cocaine worth $29 million after a 5-month long investigation known as Project Shearwater into a GTA cocaine trafficking network. Five men face 12 charges.
If allegations against him are true, take Mexican national Javier Luis Martinez-Hernandez, 29, of London. He was charged a week ago for his alleged role in a $29-million cocaine bust in the Toronto area. Martinez-Hernandez is subject to a removal order issued by CBSA, cops said.
Of course, the agency wouldn’t provide any details because … uh, privacy.
But a fair question to ask is this: How did he get into the country?
In January, three men from Chile were busted after a botched carjacking in York Region. The three amigos allegedly rammed the victim’s car from behind.
Carlos Carvajal Moya, 22, Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, and Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, all of Chile, are accused of an attempted carjacking in King Township on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
Carlos Carvajal Moya, 22, Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, and Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, all of Chile, are accused of an attempted carjacking in King Township on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
When the victim exited the vehicle, he was faced with two men wearing masks — one was brandishing a gun. The thugs attempted to steal the vehicle but failed and fled with other items of the victim’s property.
Two were busted in Toronto while the third suspect was nabbed by Homeland Security in Texas and returned to York Regional Police.
Charged are Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, and Carlos Carvajal Moya, also 22. They’ve been hit with charges of armed robbery, stolen property, and unlawful use of a credit card. None of the charges have been tested in court.
Say what you want about Lajos Galamb, but if police allegations are true, the Toronto man has the work ethic of a devout Calvinist.
Lajos Galamb, 24, of Toronto, has been charged in connection with break-ins at three separate car dealerships in the Keele St.-Steeles Ave. area between Dec. 29, 2024, and Jan. 12, 2025.
But a fair question to ask is this: How did they get into the country?
Last week, I wrote about the industrious Lajos Galamb.
Despite his murky immigration status, the 24-year-old Hungarian — on house arrest since 2023 — allegedly went on a break-in frenzy. He was hit with 193 charges in a year’s worth of break-and-enters in Toronto.
You can toss in charges for another 195 break-ins in Waterloo, Guelph, London, York, Peel, and Durham regions. While under house arrest.
Toronto Police Association vice-president Brian Callanan could be forgiven for asking: “How many charges do police have to lay before this guy is held in custody?”
Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar, charged in relation to the homicide of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A lot is the correct answer. In 2018, he was busted with two fellow Hungarians for stealing metal from property in the Cobourg area. Bizarrely, there is no record of his arrests, charges or immigration status.
Galamb got a conditional discharge and probation for theft under in 2023. He also has matters from 2021 and 2022 still before the courts.
None of the most recent charges have been tested in court.
But a fair question to ask is this: Why is he still in the country?
Goldy Brar and Sidhu Moose Wala.
WELCOME! Alleged gangster Goldy Brar made Canada home. One of his alleged victims was Sidhu Moose Wala.
More frightening, it isn’t just property crimes that get the old blow-off from the CBSA and the courts. Hardcore violent crimes also fall under the sinister see-no-evil compact.
For example, the June 2023 rubout of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, who was shot to death by three men allegedly at the behest of the Indian government. The trio were allegedly in Canada on student visas. The case is still before the courts.
Citing the Privacy Act, CBSA told The Toronto Sun the agency could not comment on specific immigration cases but said that “all persons seeking entry to Canada are examined by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and must demonstrate they meet the requirements to enter.”
CBSA added that admissibility is based on the information available at entry. Travellers must have documentation explaining their reason for coming to Canada and other relevant information.
“If information comes to light that an individual who was granted entry to Canada may be inadmissible, the CBSA can launch an investigation and initiate appropriate enforcement action,” the agency said. “The CBSA has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals who are inadmissible to Canada under the IRPA.”
The CBSA said the most serious inadmissibility issues include “criminality, national security, war crimes, humans rights violations and organized crime.”
Game, set and match, right?
If allegations against them prove to be true, the above cases are just the tip of the iceberg. It appears someone thought it was a good idea to let these people into Canada.
Again, the question is: What are they doing here? And what is the CBSA doing about it?
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HunterTOSun
HUNTER: With friends like the Canadian Border Services, we don't need enemies
What does the Canada Border Safety Agency do? Really.
CBSA officers put border blame on Trudeau, refugee board
'It's been a very frustrating few years. The Liberals are backtracking but the damage has been done'
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Feb 12, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
Criminals, grifters, aspiring terrorists, extremists and other less-than-savoury characters have washed onto Canadian shores in a tsunami of stupidity over the past decade.
And then, we can’t get rid of them.
Earlier this week, I lambasted the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for the situation that has become nothing short of a full-blown crisis.
But CBSA frontline workers were quick to respond. Don’t blame us, a number of them wrote me.
Blame Justin Trudeau’s open-doors Liberal government and an Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) packed with “radical left ideologues.” Officers say they have essentially been handcuffed from making decisions that keep Canadians safe.
“Want to know why and how all that trash enters? Don’t blame us, the officers. Blame this open border government that has tied our hands with whom we can detain and why,” one CBSA staffer wrote.
“Blame the fact that all those criminals are in the country on garbage asylum claims. Once they say the magic word ‘refugee,’ they’re released.
“Blame the IRB and, finally, blame the spineless CBSA management that is more worried about what the (Toronto) Star and Refugee Law Office will say if they detain these ‘poor marginalized people.'”
Another border guard said that officers do their jobs. They refuse entry to criminals and other suspicious people whose stories don’t add up.
“But they say ‘refugee’ and it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card,” the anonymous guard said. “We detain these individuals and the Liberal IRB members release them ALL within 48 hours, they then have their first detention review.”
Higher up the food chain, the agency’s top brass are allegedly pressuring officers to “release everyone.” The horizon looks worse when CBSA will be unable to detain foreign criminals in provincial jails after September 2025.
The officer said frontline workers are “being forced to consider every single alternative to detention. If (Osama) bin Laden was detained and has family in Canada, he would be released on a bond to his family.”
“Classifying CBSA as the friend you don’t want is unfair to all of us frontline officers who work hard every day with refusing and detaining but once they leave the port of entry they are released into the public,” he said, adding “a refugee claimant with criminal charges will be released for two to three years before their claim is heard.”
“From automatic visa approvals to releasing everyone this is all thanks to Liberals. Frontline works hard but unlike the criminals, our hands are tied, the criminals’ hands are not and they are free to roam.”
Another officer said the trio of Chileans recently busted for a slew of break-ins in Ontario slipped into the country on someone else’s passport. The machines now used by CBSA let them in.
Carlos Carvajal Moya, 22, Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, and Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, all of Chile, are accused of an attempted carjacking in King Township on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
Carlos Carvajal Moya, 22, Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, and Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, all of Chile, are accused of an attempted carjacking in King Township on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
“They are trying to automate everything, so more of this garbage will be coming in as they expand the PIK machines. (Primary Inspection Kiosks). The pandemic resulted in a visa application program where everyone got the green light — even blank pages,” he said. “It didn’t matter if there was nothing on them.
“This is why we have a million Indian students — 90% of these would never be approved if they were reviewed by a visa officer.”
Even when officers suspected that someone on a visitor’s visa had no intention of leaving, refusal was not an option.
“Unless they had criminal charges they admitted to, it was hands-off, let them all in. We would be getting 100 refugee claimants a day and 90% were coming on student visas with zero intention to study and many not speaking a word of English,” the officer noted.
“It’s been a very frustrating few years. The Liberals are backtracking but the damage has been done. It’ll take years for Canada to catch up, and remove these people.”
In a statement to the Toronto Sun, CBSA said: “Border security and integrity is a shared mandate between the CBSA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Canada. The CBSA is responsible for enforcing the law at designated ports of entry in Canada and the RCMP is responsible for enforcing Canadian legislation between ports of entry.
“When persons crossing into Canada between ports of entry are intercepted by the RCMP or local police, they are brought to a designated port of entry for examination. Once at the port of entry, if the individual claims asylum, the CBSA will then determine whether or not the claim is eligible under the STCA and the AP and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.”
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HUnterTOSun
torontosun.com
'It's been a very frustrating few years. The Liberals are backtracking but the damage has been done'
Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Feb 12, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 3 minute read
Criminals, grifters, aspiring terrorists, extremists and other less-than-savoury characters have washed onto Canadian shores in a tsunami of stupidity over the past decade.
And then, we can’t get rid of them.
Earlier this week, I lambasted the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for the situation that has become nothing short of a full-blown crisis.
But CBSA frontline workers were quick to respond. Don’t blame us, a number of them wrote me.
Blame Justin Trudeau’s open-doors Liberal government and an Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) packed with “radical left ideologues.” Officers say they have essentially been handcuffed from making decisions that keep Canadians safe.
“Want to know why and how all that trash enters? Don’t blame us, the officers. Blame this open border government that has tied our hands with whom we can detain and why,” one CBSA staffer wrote.
“Blame the fact that all those criminals are in the country on garbage asylum claims. Once they say the magic word ‘refugee,’ they’re released.
“Blame the IRB and, finally, blame the spineless CBSA management that is more worried about what the (Toronto) Star and Refugee Law Office will say if they detain these ‘poor marginalized people.'”
Another border guard said that officers do their jobs. They refuse entry to criminals and other suspicious people whose stories don’t add up.
“But they say ‘refugee’ and it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card,” the anonymous guard said. “We detain these individuals and the Liberal IRB members release them ALL within 48 hours, they then have their first detention review.”
Higher up the food chain, the agency’s top brass are allegedly pressuring officers to “release everyone.” The horizon looks worse when CBSA will be unable to detain foreign criminals in provincial jails after September 2025.
The officer said frontline workers are “being forced to consider every single alternative to detention. If (Osama) bin Laden was detained and has family in Canada, he would be released on a bond to his family.”
“Classifying CBSA as the friend you don’t want is unfair to all of us frontline officers who work hard every day with refusing and detaining but once they leave the port of entry they are released into the public,” he said, adding “a refugee claimant with criminal charges will be released for two to three years before their claim is heard.”
“From automatic visa approvals to releasing everyone this is all thanks to Liberals. Frontline works hard but unlike the criminals, our hands are tied, the criminals’ hands are not and they are free to roam.”
Another officer said the trio of Chileans recently busted for a slew of break-ins in Ontario slipped into the country on someone else’s passport. The machines now used by CBSA let them in.
Carlos Carvajal Moya, 22, Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, and Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, all of Chile, are accused of an attempted carjacking in King Township on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
Carlos Carvajal Moya, 22, Kevin Espinoza Rojas, 25, and Martin Tapia Gonazlez, 22, all of Chile, are accused of an attempted carjacking in King Township on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025.
“They are trying to automate everything, so more of this garbage will be coming in as they expand the PIK machines. (Primary Inspection Kiosks). The pandemic resulted in a visa application program where everyone got the green light — even blank pages,” he said. “It didn’t matter if there was nothing on them.
“This is why we have a million Indian students — 90% of these would never be approved if they were reviewed by a visa officer.”
Even when officers suspected that someone on a visitor’s visa had no intention of leaving, refusal was not an option.
“Unless they had criminal charges they admitted to, it was hands-off, let them all in. We would be getting 100 refugee claimants a day and 90% were coming on student visas with zero intention to study and many not speaking a word of English,” the officer noted.
“It’s been a very frustrating few years. The Liberals are backtracking but the damage has been done. It’ll take years for Canada to catch up, and remove these people.”
In a statement to the Toronto Sun, CBSA said: “Border security and integrity is a shared mandate between the CBSA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Canada. The CBSA is responsible for enforcing the law at designated ports of entry in Canada and the RCMP is responsible for enforcing Canadian legislation between ports of entry.
“When persons crossing into Canada between ports of entry are intercepted by the RCMP or local police, they are brought to a designated port of entry for examination. Once at the port of entry, if the individual claims asylum, the CBSA will then determine whether or not the claim is eligible under the STCA and the AP and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.”
bhunter@postmedia.com
@HUnterTOSun
HUNTER: CBSA officers put border blame on Trudeau, refugee board
Criminals, grifters, aspiring terrorists, extremists and other unsavory characters have flooded into Canada in a tsunami of stupidity.
Feds need 'more aggressive reductions' to stem population growth: Report
Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Published Feb 12, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read
Despite an October pledge by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to drastically reduce immigration, the country’s population continues to grow at a high rate, a new report finds.
The Feb. 6 economic study from Desjardins titled ‘Is Canada’s Population Slowing According to Plan?’ finds that while international student admissions have decreased in the last four months, Ottawa is still allowing about the same amount of temporary foreign workers and permanent immigrants into the country.
The bottom line, the report authors say, is that the population growth isn’t about to change without “more aggressive reductions.”
Desjardins said the only success so far is reducing international students with about 280,000 fewer in 2024 compared to 2023 — plus around 468,000 fewer new non-permanent residents in total including temporary migrants who have returned home voluntarily.
However, Desjardins says temporary foreign workers numbers remained “essentially unchanged,” with a decrease of just 1%.
The Trudeau Liberal government pledged in October to reduce the number of permanent residents by 20% — from a planned 500,000 down to 380,000.
But Desjardins, pointing to federal data, wrote “we have yet to see declines in PR admissions,” adding “the federal government is still far from achieving its population targets.”
The report also says asylum seekers numbers have gone up in recent months — due in part to international students claiming to be refugees after their visas expired — with 28,000 allowed in last year, a 20% increase from 2023.
jstevenson@postmedia.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Jane Stevenson
Published Feb 12, 2025 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read
Despite an October pledge by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to drastically reduce immigration, the country’s population continues to grow at a high rate, a new report finds.
The Feb. 6 economic study from Desjardins titled ‘Is Canada’s Population Slowing According to Plan?’ finds that while international student admissions have decreased in the last four months, Ottawa is still allowing about the same amount of temporary foreign workers and permanent immigrants into the country.
The bottom line, the report authors say, is that the population growth isn’t about to change without “more aggressive reductions.”
Desjardins said the only success so far is reducing international students with about 280,000 fewer in 2024 compared to 2023 — plus around 468,000 fewer new non-permanent residents in total including temporary migrants who have returned home voluntarily.
However, Desjardins says temporary foreign workers numbers remained “essentially unchanged,” with a decrease of just 1%.
The Trudeau Liberal government pledged in October to reduce the number of permanent residents by 20% — from a planned 500,000 down to 380,000.
But Desjardins, pointing to federal data, wrote “we have yet to see declines in PR admissions,” adding “the federal government is still far from achieving its population targets.”
The report also says asylum seekers numbers have gone up in recent months — due in part to international students claiming to be refugees after their visas expired — with 28,000 allowed in last year, a 20% increase from 2023.
jstevenson@postmedia.com
Feds need 'more aggressive reductions' to stem population growth: Report
A new report says despite an October pledge by Ottawa to reduce immigration, Canada's population continues to grow at a high rate.