Thread: Visa violations: WHO'S LIVING HERE?

Visa violations: WHO'S LIVING HERE?
The Windsor Star
August 29, 2011 7:12 AM

The federal government seems to be doing a lousy job of tracking how many people visit this country and never get around to leaving it. Citizenship and Immigration has admitted that nobody really knows how many foreign visitors using temporary visas are here long after those visas have expired.

"Canada does not systematically record the departure of travellers from Canada at this time," a spokeswoman confirmed when asked the question.

Winnipeg North MP Kevin Lamoureux wants to know why not, and so should the rest of Canadians. "Given today's technology, you'd think you would be able to do that," he said.

That's exactly the point. Technology can be used to track virtually anything today, and if the government is so concerned about illegal immigrants living in this country, why hasn't it made use of these 21st-century tools?

Lamoureux is pushing for visa reform because a number of his constituents have family members who have been denied temporary visas to vacation here. Mexican travellers are now required to have visas because it's been documented that once here, many start applying for refugee status. But most of those complaining in Lamoureux's riding have relatives wanting to visit from India and the Philippines, and the reason for their rejection remains unclear.

The revelation that the government doesn't have a clue came just weeks after the Stephen Harper government announced it wanted to round up at least 1,800 people believed to have "bought" their way into the country under false pretences. Some of them have Canadian passports and citizenship but don't actually live here. Others are alleged to be war criminals who slipped past the Canada Border Services Agency and vanished into thin air.

On the surface it might seem the issues aren't related. The government's recent initiative deals with two specific kinds of offenders: people who were granted citizenship, even though they had no intention of establishing residency, and those who took refuge in Canada after committing crimes against humanity.

Lamoureux, on the other hand, simply wants to make temporary visa rules more flexible so more people who legitimately want to visit Canada can do so.

What ties it all together is the very clear and troubling fact that nobody in Ottawa seems able to keep tabs on anybody - not the temporary visitors, not the passport fraudsters, not the war criminals.

That, quite frankly, is astonishing, and it gives credence to the claim by Homeland Security that Canada hasn't done enough to protect our shared borders with the U.S. In the wake of 9-11 - with the 10th anniversary quickly approaching - failure to monitor visitors and immigrants is not something a government should want to readily admit.

It should, however, want to fix the situation. The government's new U.S.-style "most wanted" list has already proven effective. In less than a month, eight suspected war criminals living illegally in Canada were nabbed. A list seeking 32 immigrants wanted for committing serious crimes in this country is also expected to see results.

To reach this critical point proves Canada's rules have been too lax for too long. This isn't just a Harper failure. It's a systemic problem that dates back decades.

There are two important reasons to take care of this. First, to protect legitimate Canadian citizens against fraud and violence. Second, to assure our U.S. trade partners that this country is secure and properly monitored.

Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/news/Visa+vi ... z1WQJg8LH6

you are 100 % right they don't check at all it about time they did
1 start with the paper's
2 Dr Lic which they can not read In English . so what going on
3 don't hire them
4 don't rent to them
& the Gov don't care just a s long as they get a check every other week
right gov . get you head out of the sand do your job check
all welfare & see who on it & working it & working at then same time
I see this every day
No anmesty