Open Letter to the Immigration Minister on Kneecap

November 28, 2025

The Honourable Lena Metlege Diab
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Via email: [email protected]

Dear Minister Diab,

Open letter re: Kneecap

I am writing to follow up on my letter to you dated October 2nd regarding the admissibility of Kneecap, the Irish musical group to Canada. I note that it has been two months since I have written, I have yet to receive your response to this critical matter.

Meanwhile, in response to an Order Paper Question, IRCC confirmed that admissibility decisions are made exclusively by designated officers—not by elected officials—and CBSA has stated that it was not consulted or involved in the decision by Parliamentary Secretary Gasparro to go public.

With respect to Mr. Liam Og Hanna's application, his eTA was cancelled for "omitting to disclose complete and accurate information on his application". The Order Paper Question response indicated that "[t]he applicant was notified of the reasons for this decision"; however, his legal counsel advised that the letter he received did not specify the reasons.

Could you please advise what omissions did Mr. Liam Og Hanna allegedly make in his eTA application that rendered his application “cancelled for admissibility”? Could you also provide the reasons for the cancellation of his eTA application?

Under Rule 9 of the Federal Courts Rules, the Minister must provide complete reasons for a decision. In response to the Rule 9 request, members of Kneecap received the same refusal letter, supplemented only by a single GCMS note stating that “[b]y not providing the requested documents, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the client’s required eTA information may not be genuine.” The note does not identify which “requested documents” were allegedly missing or explain how their absence rendered the eTA information “not genuine.” Liam Og Hanna never received any request for additional documents. In short, no information has been provided on what exactly was said to be omitted or “not genuine.”

With respect to the other two band members, they were simply advised not to travel because their applications remained under review with no timeline on when a decision would be made, nor was additional information requested for the application to complete the processing.

Mr. James John O Dochartaigh and Mr. Naoise O Caireallain both held valid eTAs but later received letters raising unspecified concerns about potential misrepresentation and requesting further documents. This effectively reopened their eTA applications and rendered the eTAs unusable for travel, though they were not formally refused. Both have now provided the requested documents and are awaiting a decision.

What is the estimated time for that process to be completed or will these applications remain undecided indefinitely to avoid having to make a decision that is politically sensitive as it may contradict the statement made by Parliamentary Secretary Vince Gasparro? The applications have been under review for two months now, but to date, no request for additional information have been made to the applicants. Could you please advise if there is any additional information needed to help with the decision-making process.

Your urgent attention to this matter is required and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
Jenny Kwan
Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

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