FIRST READING: Migrants are being screened on the honour system, MPs told

2025/11/24 Leave a comment

Would be nice if there was government reaction included in this article. Will await committee transcript to see if any substantive response but does contribute to undermining confidence in immigration and asylum:

Canada is so overwhelmed by refugee claimants that it is now standard practice to conduct security screenings on the honour system, the head of Canada’s border patrol union told Parliamentarians this week.

To speed things up, because we are short-staffed, we are allowing people into the country without first doing … security screening,” Mark Weber, president of the Customs and Immigration Union, told a meeting of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration.

Right now, any foreign national showing up at a Canadian border post and claiming to be a refugee will be required only to fill out a security questionnaire via a smartphone app.

After that, the foreigner is cleared to enter Canada as a refugee claimant, a status that entitles them to free health care, access to public schools and work permits. In some cases, claimants can even receive taxpayer-funded lodgings.

In 2024, numbers released by the federal government’s Interim Housing Assistance Program showed that some claimants were receiving free meals and hotel rooms to the tune of $224 per claimant, per day.

And given the current backlog in processing refugee claims, even a false refugee claimant can expect to enjoy protected status in Canada for up to two years until their case is reviewed by immigration authorities.

As Weber told Parliamentarians on Tuesday, the only way to head off hostile actors abusing the system is to hope that they will “self-declare that they’re here for no good.”

“Our goal at the border is to build the file to be able to identify non-genuine claims, and right now we’re kind of relying on people to self-declare that they’re a non-genuine claim,” he said.

Weber said that border guards are no longer able to watch for “patterns and flags” that would show up in an individual posing a security threat to Canada.

Rather, their job is simply to collect basic personal and biometric data (such as fingerprints) before sending refugee claimants on their way.

Border guards aren’t even allowed to review the self-reported answers given by refugee claimants; that all gets sent to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

“Claimants spend significantly less time meaningfully interacting with officers, with the result of reduced security for the sake of expediency,” said Weber….

Source: FIRST READING: Migrants are being screened on the honour system, MPs told

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Immigration minister extends pause on new private refugee sponsorships to 2027

2025/11/24 Leave a comment

Unfortunate, one of the more successful programs, in terms of both outcomes and support of Canadians:

Immigration Minister Lena Diab has extended the pause on new applications through the Private Sponsorship for Refugees Program for another 12 months as the department works to clear its backlog.

New ministerial instructions were published in the Canada Gazette on Friday, along with a notice on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website.

The pause was to be lifted at the end of December but will now be in place for another year, until Dec. 31, 2026.

This pause applies to refugee sponsorships submitted by community organizations or groups of five or more individuals. These sponsors have to support the refugee for one year after they arrive or until they can support themselves, whichever comes first.

Applications that were submitted before the pause took effect on Nov. 29, 2024 will still be processed, according to the notice.

Gauri Sreenivasan, Canadian Council for Refugees co-executive director, called the extension a “cruel blow for refugees” in a phone interview with The Canadian Press.

“This decision basically denies Canadians the ability to exercise our own generosity. And in that way, it’s really tone deaf to who we actually are as a country,” she said.

“I mean, government’s really losing touch with who we are.”

Sreenivasan said refugee sponsors were preparing to submit new applications in 2026, when the pause was originally scheduled to end….

Source: Immigration minister extends pause on new private refugee sponsorships to 2027

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Conservatives plan to try and amend asylum system rules in border security bill

2025/11/21 Leave a comment

Will be interesting to what role the Bloc plays in committee. May well end up with the committee making amendments and the government and NDP rejecting all as was the case with C-3:

Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner said Thursday she plans to try and “amend the heck” out of the government’s border security bill, Bill C-12, with a host of measures targeting the asylum system. 

Her proposed changes include disallowing asylum claims from people who transited through Europe or another G7 country on their way to Canada and denying access to social benefits, except emergency medical treatment, for those with a failed asylum claim.

“I think Canadians want some change in this regard. Canada’s system for allowing and accepting asylum claims is pretty generous,” Rempel Garner said at a press conference on Parliament Hill.

“So somebody who’s failed a review, I think it’s fair that the only federal benefits that they receive is emergency health care and I think a lot of Canadians would agree.”

Rempel Garner said she also plans to propose changes to speed up the deportation of non-citizens if they are convicted of a crime or if their pre-removal risk assessment isn’t successful.

This includes clarifying the definition of “serious criminality” in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to be a conviction of an indictable offence, or a hybrid offence where the Crown proceeded with an indictable charge. 

Rempel Garner also said she will propose a ban on repeat pre-removal risk assessments if the initial one fails unless new evidence of changed circumstances is presented. 

She said increased rates of permanent and temporary immigration, in addition to increased asylum claims, have “broken” Canada’s system and contributed to declining support for immigration.

“I think everybody in Canada, (of) every political stripe, should be deeply concerned with public polling data that shows that Canadians are losing faith in the immigration system,” Rempel Garner said. …

Source: Conservatives plan to try and amend asylum system rules in border security bill

Some initial reactions:

…Fen Hampson, president of the World Refugee & Migration Council, said “there are arguments to be made for tightening up the system to prevent abuses but by the same token you don’t want to swing wildly in the opposite direction.”

He said banning people from claiming asylum who had passed through an EU or G7 country would bar Canada from accepting people fleeing war-torn states who, for practical reasons, have to pass through Europe to get to Canada. 

“You are likely going to have to stop somewhere on your way to Canada and it may be a few days or it may be more than that,” he said. “Few asylum seekers can book a ticket to fly directly to Canada.”

The border and immigration bill – known as Bill C-12 – will be considered clause by clause next week by MPs on the public safety committee. 

Ms. Rempel Garner told a press conference on Thursday that her party will table their amendments then. One would end federal benefits for failed claimants of asylum, beyond emergency health care…

Source: Conservative amendments to borders bill would make sweeping changes to asylum system, I’m going to amend the heck out of C-12 to fix Canada’s broken immigration system. (Rempel Garner’s substack post)

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B.C. college instructor fired over Hamas comments reinstated

2025/11/21 Leave a comment

Her comment appears to lack self-awareness given the nature of much of academic discourse:

Langara Faculty Association president Pauline Greaves said in a statement that she is grateful the troubling episode has come to a close.

“I understand many in our community were hurt and offended by what Dr. Knight said. But collegial dialogue and tolerance for views we don’t like are the bedrock of a robust, engaged academic environment.”

Source: B.C. college instructor fired over Hamas comments reinstated

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Conservative MPs denounce ‘Liberal racism’ and DEI during Jamil Jivani event

2025/11/21 Leave a comment

Good example of some conservative perspectives on DEI, mirroring some of excesses of liberal perspectives:

….Jivani’s Tuesday event was primarily a broadside at progressive ideologies writ large, but it also referenced federal programs and initiatives. The Prime Minister’s Office was not immediately available for comment on the event, though Jivani said all Liberal MPs were invited to attend his forum, however none took part. 

Jivani — who spoke about his upbringing as the son of an Irish-Scottish mother and a Kenyan father — said people like him “should not be treated as charity cases” and should not be subjected to “lowered” standards to access opportunities.

“I also stand here in opposition to Liberal racism because I completely reject the twisted narrative of Canadian history that liberal elites use to justify the open discrimination against Canadians of European descent and their children. Your heritage in this country should never be used as a weapon against you,” the Bowmanville—Oshawa North MP said, eliciting applause. 

“It’s also my belief that together, we can end Liberal racism by speaking very truthfully and bluntly about what it is, and highlighting the ways that it manipulates our society and divides people against one another.”

In service of that goal, Jivani ceded the stage to three Conservative MPs to share their views on the subject: Calgary’s Shuvaloy Majumdar and two rising stars within Tory caucus, Newmarket-Aurora’s Sandra Cobena and Richmond Hill South’s Vincent Neil Ho….

Source: Conservative MPs denounce ‘Liberal racism’ and DEI during Jamil Jivani event

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Lost Canadians bill gets royal assent after years of parliamentary battles

2025/11/21 4 Comments

Will be interesting to see the actual take-up and to that effect, IRCC needs to resume regular reporting of citizenship proofs. Dispiriting that the government did not accept the annual public reporting amendment which, unlike other proposed amendments by the Conservatives and Bloc, did not fundamentally change the Bill.

Have a data request into IRCC for any analysis of the 4,200 pending applications and will share when received:

A bill allowing Canadians born outside the country to pass on their citizenship to future generations born abroad gained royal assent on Thursday, after years of parliamentary and judicial battles. 

The legislation, which cleared its final parliamentary stage in the Senate Wednesday night, reinstates rights of Lost Canadians and reverses 2009 changes made to the Citizenship Act by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, which stripped descendants of Canadians born abroad of their automatic right to citizenship. 

The government predicts tens of thousands of Lost Canadians could benefit from the change, but the Parliamentary Budget Officer estimates about 115,000 could gain citizenship….

Source: Lost Canadians bill gets royal assent after years of parliamentary battles

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Nakba exhibit at Canadian Museum for Human Rights to draw on Palestinian oral histories

2025/11/21 2 Comments

I don’t envy the curators preparing the exhibition and having to navigate the politics (see reaction from some Jewish organizations below). That being said, it is a legitimate exhibition for the museum and the oral story approach is likely the most appropriate:

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is launching a new exhibit examining the Nakba, a period beginning in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs were displaced in the war over Israel’s creation.

Drawing on the oral histories of the Palestinian diaspora in Canada, the mixed-media display will open in June. It is set to remain a permanent part of the Winnipeg-based museum’s standing galleries for at least two years, chief executive officer Isha Khan told The Globe and Mail.

After years of protests and demonstrations outside the national museum demanding such an exhibit, advocates from several Jewish and Palestinian groups expressed elation about what they believe is a long overdue step toward public education. But at least two Canadian Jewish groups condemned the planned exhibit, stating that it undermines the legitimacy of Israeli statehood. One of them has withdrawn from future collaborations….

Source: Nakba exhibit at Canadian Museum for Human Rights to draw on Palestinian oral histories

Reaction from some Jewish organizations:

…The JHCWC also expressed concern the exhibit could overlook non-Jewish minorities who are Israeli citizen, including Muslim and Christian Arabs, Druze, Circassians and Samaritans – people who hold positions in the judiciary, parliament, health care and the military, and that their equal rights under Israeli law complicate common interpretations of the Nakba.

The centre notes previous exhibitions — including the Holocaust gallery — were organized with extensive consultation.

“I think what you’re seeing with the Jewish Heritage Centre is the manifestation of a fundamental breach of trust by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights,” says David Asper. “The factual, historical context of events surrounding the ‘Nakba’ are not just one story. In my father’s founding vision of the purpose of the Museum he never had a problem with the telling of the whole story, which includes the displacement and expulsion of over 800,000 Jews who were living in Arab countries and, perhaps most importantly, that a lot of what happened was triggered by the fact that many Arab countries declared war and tried to conquer and eliminate Israel in 1948.”…

Source: Canadian Museum for Human Rights has become ‘tool’ of one side of the Arab-Israeli story: David Asper

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Feds helped push through citizenship for English soccer player in time to join Canadian squad

2025/11/20 Leave a comment

So let me get this straight.

While Minister Diab was making the case this Monday for passing C-3 quickly to avoid the absence of legislation that “it will open it up so that citizenship by descent will have no limit, and that’s exactly what I think a lot of people don’t want,” the government was fast tracking citizenship for a soccer player who apparently did not meeting the substantial connection case of having a parent who met the 1,095 day residency requirement.

In other words, skipping a generation and taking advantage of the legislative vacuum.

Depending on your perspective, clever or hypocritical move (latter in my opinion):

He is not the first soccer player to fly a flag of convenience in the run up to the World Cup, nor is he the only foreign-born player on Canada’s national soccer team. 

But few will have left it so close to their first match for Canada to take the citizenship oath. 

The Canadian national soccer team’s newest recruit is Alfie Jones, a Bristol-born defender who plays for second-tier English team Middlesborough. 

On Monday he took the citizenship oath in time to play for Canada on Tuesday in a pre-World Cup friendly match against Venezuela. 

Jones’s application for Canadian citizenship – made possible because he had an Alberta-born grandmother – was pushed through with the help of a government minister and a senior public servant in time for Tuesday’s kick off. …

Source: Feds helped push through citizenship for English soccer player in time to join Canadian squad

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Ontario cancels fast-track immigration program for skilled trades

2025/11/20 Leave a comment

Sigh…. Will see if the minister responsible, Piccini, resigns or not:

Ontario has quietly suspended a fast-track immigration stream for skilled tradespeople and is cancelling all current applications to the stream, leaving candidates who were awaiting decisions in limbo − and at risk of losing their right to live and work in the province.

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) allows the province to recruit and retain foreign workers by granting permanent residency to those with in-demand skills, and has previously been touted as a critical means of filling labour shortages.

Qualified workers can be nominated by employers or invited by the province to apply based on their skill set. Last year, the province nominated about 4,100 candidates through its skilled worker stream − with the Labour Ministry describing the OINP as the “best tool the province has” to fill job gaps. The government has previously forecast that it will need 100,000 skilled tradespeople over the next decade to meet its infrastructure goals.

But the Labour Ministry’s oversight of the program has also attracted scrutiny from the province’s Auditor-General’s office, which last year identified weaknesses in detecting “integrity concerns.”

On Friday, an update posted to the OINP website said an internal review of the skilled trades initiative had “identified systemic misrepresentation and/or fraud,” prompting the Labour Ministry to suspend the stream.

That afternoon, candidates were notified by a director at the Labour Ministry that their applications had been terminated, according to a ministry e-mail obtained by The Globe and Mail.

Source: Ontario cancels fast-track immigration program for skilled trades

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Canadians distrust refugees more than other new arrivals, poll shows

2025/11/20 Leave a comment

Not unexpected. Assumption that immigrants already here are more sympathetic on any number of immigration and refugee issues is largely false, as in many cases immigrant opinions are similar to Canadian-born and in some cases, more negative given perception that some refugees are “queue jumpers:”

…Perhaps counterintuitively, trust in refugees was lower among respondents who identified themselves as immigrants (28 per cent) than non-immigrants (38 per cent). Trust for refugees was also lower among non-white respondents (26 per cent) than whites (39 per cent).

Immigrant respondents had only slightly more trust in other immigrants (47 per cent) than non-immigrants did (45 per cent).

On the survey question about trusting refugees: More men than women said they distrust refugees (49 per cent versus 36 per cent, with a higher percentage of women declining to answer). The youngest (ages 18 to 24) and the oldest (age 65 and over) tended to trust refugees the most, but, overall, age divisions didn’t show wide variation.

On the question about trusting immigrants, demographic patterns of respondents were similar: More men than women said they distrust immigrants (41 per cent versus 34 per cent, and, again, a higher percentage of women declined to answer). The youngest and oldest showed the highest levels of trust in immigrants.

Geographically, trust in refugees was lowest in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, which are pooled together by the pollsters, at 31 per cent, and Ontario at 33 per cent; trust in refugees was highest in Quebec and Alberta, both at 42 per cent.

Trust in immigrants was lowest in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (37 per cent) and in Quebec (41 per cent), and highest in Atlantic Canada (53 per cent) and Alberta (50 per cent)….

Source: Canadians distrust refugees more than other new arrivals, poll shows

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