Immigration

We live in a time of rising global uncertainty. It is more important than ever that the Canadian immigration system can respond to arising global crises in an expedient and flexible manner. Alarmingly, this is not the case.

Even before major global refugee crises such as the Afghanistan, and Ukrainian crises, IRCC has been struggling with massive backlogs in all the immigration streams. Delayed immigration application is the most common request for assistance at my office, with some applications delayed for years! Behind the delayed applications are separated families, missed opportunities, and in some cases, immigration is a life-and-death situation for people who need to leave dangerous situations.

To start, IRCC should stop the practice of returning applications when there are minor mistakes and missing information and documents that can be easily provided by applicants. IRCC must also end oppressive immigration policies such as the inhumane cap on parent/grandparents’ sponsorship applications, closed work permits for migrant workers, and the unfair treatment of caregivers and domestic workers.

Lack of resources for IRCC is the major root cause of delayed applications. I will continue to advocate for adequate resources for IRCC to process applications in consistently reasonable timeframes and for immigration policies that are more just.

Canadian Press News: Sale of Canadian armoured vehicles to ICE agency ‘deeply troubling’: Kwan

OTTAWA -- Anti-armament advocates say Canadian firms shouldn’t be selling armoured military vehicles to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or any other organizations with sketchy human rights records.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan said Wednesday she’s “deeply” and “profoundly” troubled because the ICE agency has been credibly accused of human rights abuses.

“I think Canadians expect our industries and our government to uphold human rights domestically and internationally, and not enable the further militarization of an organization whose conduct already puts vulnerable people at great risk,” she told The Canadian Press.

“This contract raises serious questions about Canada’s role and responsibility when it comes to our technology and products being deployed abroad.”

U.S. government procurement records show ICE recently placed a rush order for a fleet of 20 armoured vehicles made by Brampton, Ont.-based Roshel.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cp24.com/news/money/2025/12/03/sale-of-canadian-armoured-vehicles-to-ice-agency-deeply-troubling-kwan/

Global News: Kneecap launches defamation case against Liberal MP over entry ban video

The Irish hip-hop group Kneecap says it has begun legal action against Vince Gasparro, the Liberal parliamentary secretary who posted a video on social media announcing an apparent ban on the group entering Canada that their lawyer says caused “substantial” harm.

Lawyer Darragh Mackin told Global News that a defamation case is being pursued in Ireland against Gasparro, who Mackin said was served with a notice of claim over the weekend.

“Our clients have been subject to serious and unfounded assertions by way of a public video posted on a personal social media account which has caused substantial reputational harm,” Mackin said in a statement from Belfast human rights law firm Phoenix Law on Saturday.

“The statements made by Mr. Gasparro were wholly inaccurate and defamatory without any reason or justification. … Kneecap, just like every private citizen, are entitled to fairness and the protection of their good name and reputation. These proceedings have been initiated to vindicate those rights.”

In a response tabled last week in the House of Commons to an order paper question by NDP MP Jenny Kwan about the handling of the case, federal officials said they were not involved, and it remains unclear which advice from officials Gasparro was citing in his post.

“It is unprecedented for a government minister without consultation with the prime minister or the respective department to take to matters into their own hands via their own social media channel,” Mackin said. “Such clickbait tactics have no place in a modern democracy.”

In their own written response to Kwan’s request for documents, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said band member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh’s electronic travel authorization (eTA) was cancelled for inadmissibility in August — a month before Gasparro’s announcement — and that he was notified of the decision.

It made no mention of the since-dropped criminal charge against Óg Ó hAnnaidh in the U.K. that accused him of flying a Hezbollah flag during a London concert last year, which Gasparro specifically cited as a reason for the apparent entry ban.

Click image or link to read or watch the news story - https://globalnews.ca/news/11549284/kneecap-entry-ban-legal-action-vince-gasparro/

Canadian Press: CBSA, PMO say they were not involved in MP announcing ban on Belfast band Kneecap

OTTAWA — The Canada Border Services Agency and the Prime Minister's Office say they were not involved in an Ontario Liberal MP's announcement that members of the Belfast band Kneecap were banned from entering Canada.

Vince Gasparro, parliamentary secretary for combating crime, released a social media video in September announcing the ban in response to allegations that Kneecap had been inciting violence and glorifying terrorism.

In a written order paper question in the House of Commons, NDP MP Jenny Kwan asked who authorized the video and if members of Kneecap are allowed into Canada.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/national-news/cbsa-pmo-say-they-were-not-involved-in-mp-announcing-ban-on-belfast-band-kneecap-11538150

Global News: PMO and CBSA say they weren’t part of Kneecap entry ban announcement

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Canada Border Services Agency say they were not “involved” or “consulted” in a parliamentary secretary’s announcement of an apparent entry ban on the controversial Irish hip-hop group Kneecap, officials said in new documents tabled Monday.

Liberal MP Vince Gasparro , the parliamentary secretary for combatting crime, said in a video posted to X on Sept. 19 that the group was allegedly “advocating for political violence” and “glorifying terrorist organizations.” The video remains online.

He said that “on behalf of the Government of Canada I am announcing that on the advice of our officials, we have deemed the group Kneecap ineligible to enter our country.”

In a response tabled in the House of Commons to an order paper question by NDP MP Jenny Kwan about the handling of the case, federal officials said they were not involved.

“The Canada Border Services Agency was not consulted regarding the announcement,” the agency said on behalf of Public Safety Canada.

CBSA officials would be in charge of administering and enforcing an entry ban against any foreign individuals, according to additional information provided in that response from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Additionally, the Prime Minister’s Office responded that it too was “not involved in the decision for the member of Eglinton—Lawrence to make the announcement,” using the name of Gasparro’s riding.

Kwan told Global News in an interview that “there are still a lot of unanswered questions” after the government’s response.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://globalnews.ca/news/11541275/kneecap-entry-ban-canada-pmo-cbsa-ircc-gasparro/

Government reply to Jenny's Order Questions on Kneecap's travel ban

Privy Council Office
Reply by: the Prime Minister of Canada
Name of Signatory: Rachel Bendayan, P.C., M.P.
Reply

(i) was the Prime Minister’s Office involved in the decision for the member for Eglinton—Lawrence to make the announcement?

The Prime Minister’s Office was not involved in the decision for the member for Eglinton—Lawrence to make the announcement.

Public Safety Canada
Reply by: the Minister of Public Safety
Name of Signatory: Jacques Ramsay, Parliamentary Secretary
Reply

Canada Border Services Agency

(g) was the member for Eglinton—Lawrence authorized to announce that members of the musical group Kneecap were ineligible to enter the country, and, if so, who authorized the announcement and was this decision formally communicated to Kneecap by government officials?

The Canada Border Services Agency was not implicated in the authorization of the announcement.

(h) did government officials advise the member for Eglinton—Lawrence regarding the ban of Kneecap, and, if so, which department were the officials from?

The Canada Border Services Agency did not provide advice on the announcement.

(m) was there any consultation with other federal departments or agencies, including, but not limited to, Public Safety Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency and Global Affairs Canada, or third parties such as stakeholder groups prior to, or following, the announcement made by the member for Eglinton—Lawrence regarding Kneecap, and, if so, what was the response?

The Canada Border Services Agency was not consulted regarding the announcement.

Click below to read the full Response

CTV News: ‘Utterly cruel’: Canadian parents say new citizenship rules hurt kids adopted from abroad

Tens of thousands of children born abroad in the past decade and a half, known as “Lost Canadians,” will now be eligible to become Canadian citizens after a new bill passed the Senate Wednesday and received royal assent Thursday.

Bill C-3 allows Canadians born outside the country to pass on their citizenship to their children who are also born abroad. The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) says the new law would make at least 115,000 children born outside the country eligible for Canadian citizenship.

‘Lost Canadians’ legislation becomes law after Senate approval

But Canadians living in Canada, who have adopted children from abroad, say the bill leaves out a key change — an amendment that would give their kids the same treatment as children born in Canada.

“It’s utterly cruel what the government has done to us as a family and to other families like us in Canada and it’s just mean,” said Kat Lanteigne, whose 10-year-adopted son Nathanael was born in Zambia.

The new legislation says “intercountry adoptees,” children born abroad and adopted by Canadians living in Canada, must pass a “substantial connection” test to obtain citizenship, including proving they have lived in Canada for three years.

Click link to read or read the news and watch the video - https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/utterly-cruel-canadian-parents-say-new-citizenship-rules-hurt-kids-adopted-from-abroad/

CBC News: Bill restoring citizenship for 'Lost Canadians' becomes law

The "Lost Canadians" legislation, which aims to fix Canada's unconstitutional citizenship by descent rules, passed in the Senate Wednesday and received royal assent Thursday afternoon.

The term refers to people who were born outside of the country to Canadian parents who were also born in another country.

In 2009, the federal government changed the law so that Canadians born abroad could only pass down their citizenship if their child was born in Canada, but that was deemed unconstitutional by the Ontario Superior Court in December 2023.

The legislation proposed Canadian citizenship could be passed down to people born abroad, beyond the first generation, if the parents spent a cumulative three years in Canada before the child's birth or adoption.

Both Ontario Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith and B.C. NDP MP Jenny Kwan attempted to introduce amendments to clarify the adoption rules, but both were unsuccessful.

When the bill was still before the House of Commons, Conservative and Bloc Québécois members of the immigration committee tried to amend the legislation to state that the three-year period in the substantial connection test needed to take place within five consecutive years.

However, that amendment was removed by Liberal and NDP MPs before the bill was sent to the Senate.

Click link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lost-canadians-bill-senate-9.6986432

HANSARD: Caregivers should not be treated as second class or a footnote in Canada's immigration policy

Globe & Mail: Federal budget 2025: Foreigners living in Canada will get permanent residence priority, Immigration Minister says

On Tuesday the federal government announced a dramatic cut in the number of temporary residents – halving admissions of international students to Canada in the next three years, while stabilizing the number of permanent residents.

Ms. Diab was unavailable for comment. Unusually, the annual levels plan was unveiled in the budget and is being spearheaded by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, rather than the Immigration Minister.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the government’s plan “represents a disappointing retreat from Canada’s historical role as a welcoming, progressive and inclusive country for immigrants, refugees, international students and temporary foreign workers.”

She said the decision to slash international student numbers, coming on top of previous reductions, will “further devastate colleges and universities and the communities that rely on them, while causing job losses across the country.”