June 20, 2012
Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act Introduced!
Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney introduced legislation in the House on Wednesday which would expedite the removal of refugees, permanent residents and visitors for “serious criminality” more efficiently.
The Act focuses on the following three areas:
- Make it easier for the Government to remove dangerous foreign criminals from our country;
- Make it harder for those who may pose a risk to Canada to enter the country in the first place; and
- Remove barriers for genuine visitors who want to come to Canada.
The Act serves to streamline the process to deporting convicted criminals by limiting their access to the Immigration Appeal Division and therefore reducing the amount of time certain individuals may remain in Canada by up to 14 months.
The proposed legislation would also ensure that foreign nationals who are inadmissible on grounds of security, human or international rights violations or organized criminal may no longer be able to delay their removal by using humanitarian and compassionate factors to counter inadmissibility findings.
Further amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act includes a new Ministerial authority allowing discretion to refuge temporary entry in exceptional cases and increased penalties for those cheating the system.