Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, speaks at the Conservative Party Convention in Winnipeg in November, 2008.JOHN WOODS
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says he will crack down on unscrupulous immigration consultants after it was revealed that the RCMP are investigating as many as 300 citizenship applicants who claimed to live at the same address.
"We are launching a package this year to reform the regulation of immigration consultants," Mr. Kenney said. "That will include much more severe penalties for furnishing people with advice to commit fraud or [submit]fraudulent documents."
Mr. Kenney also suggested that the case of the 300 potentially fraudulent applicants may be only the tip of the iceberg. The minister said the problem is widespread and that he had seen it with his own eyes.
"I myself went and sat in on some interviews that our officials had with citizenship applicants recently in Mississauga, and I saw cases where an applicant was living at an address where 25 other people were supposedly living - 25 other applicants for citizenship were registered," Mr. Kenney told reporters.
"We are developing some techniques to track that kind of obvious evidence of fraud."
Mr. Kenney said he was surprised but not shocked by a Globe and Mail report yesterday that said the RCMP are investigating more than 300 people suspected of submitting fraudulent citizenship applications. The case centres on an office address adjacent to Palestine House, a Mississauga cultural centre that provides English classes and settlement services to immigrants.
A building manager at Palestine House said the RCMP first made inquiries about an immigration consultant who leased an office in the building in late 2007. The man still owes two months rent and hasn't been seen since, he added. The building manager said he understood, from what he had been told by the RCMP, that the case involves people who didn't reside in Canada for the required three of four years before applying for citizenship. Some were also drawing government cheques, such as the National Child Benefit, while living elsewhere.
Similar fraud cases have become a major worry for officials and citizenship judges, according to Mr. Kenney. "They are concerned about this being very widespread," he said.
Although the fraud is a crime that could carry a jail term, it usually brings only a fine, Mr. Kenney said. It can also result in deportation, but he admitted that happens rarely.
The minister said another part of his strategy will involve reaching beyond Canadian borders to influence foreign governments in major immigration source countries. He said something must be done to tackle the "Wild West environment for immigration consultants" in those jurisdictions, where consultants promote ways to beat Canada's laws and obtain citizenship without really living in the country.
"India, for example, has no legislation on this at all. Nothing," Mr. Kenney said. "It may be a bit Pollyannaish of me to think that it will actually have an effect, but I think we need to push this as a diplomatic priority in these countries."
So far the Canadian government has launched an awareness campaign in 17 languages, telling prospective immigrants they need not use consultants, and that if they still choose to hire one, they should deal only with licensed consultants and take steps to protect themselves against fraud.