Statistics Show Bogus Asylum Seekers Racking Up Health Care Costs

Posted on August 1, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

George Dumont hospital in Moncton. The Canadian government spends approximately $20 million a year on health care for asylum seekers. (Stu Pendousmat)

Immigration Canada released statistics on health care spending for refugee claimants yesterday to bolster its case that the recent scaling back of free health care for asylum seekers was necessary.

The statistics show that refugee claimants from Mexico, Hungary, Columbia, the United States and Jamaica, all countries that do not have a record of human rights abuse and persecution, received millions of dollars worth of Canadian health care services for free through the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), and proportionally more than asylum seekers from any other country.

Immigration Canada’s data shows that health care costs for 8,819 Mexican asylum seekers came to $7 million last year, for 6,749 Hungarians to $4.4 million, for 4,583 Columbians to $2.6 million, for 3,790 Americans to over $1.4 million and for 809 Jaimaican asylum seekers to $808,000.

Almost all of the claimants from these countries end up not attending their refugee hearings, withdrawing their refugee application, or having their claim rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said that this made it necessary to reduce the range of free health care services provided to asylum seekers to prevent abuse of Canada’s refugee system.

“That does underscore the reasons why we’ve reformed the Interim Federal Health Program. There’s no doubt that it has been a draw factor for many false asylum claims,” commented Mr. Kenney.

Under changes to Canada’s Refugees System with the enactment of Bill C-31 on June 11th, free pharmaceutical, vision and dental care for refugee claimants was eliminated, which supporters of the cuts argue is fair as none of these services are available to Canadian citizens through Medicare.

The extent of the abuse of the Interim Federal Health Program was highlighted by Minister Kenney as he cited interviews Canada Border Service agents have conducted with some Hungarian asylum seekers when they were withdrawing their applications for refugee status, in which the claimants admitted that they had come to Canada to receive free dental care for their children, and now that they had gotten it, there was no reason to stay.

Immigration Canada Launches Online Consultations to Improve Federal Investor Program

Posted on July 31, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

The federal government is launching online consultations today to get feedback from the public on how to improve the federal Immigrant Investor Program.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) today launched an online consultation campaign to solicit input from the Canadian public on ways to modify the federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) to increase the benefit it provides to the country.

“We can no longer be a passive player in the global competition for talent and investment. That is why we need to review our immigration programs to create dynamic opportunities that enable immigrants’ investments to directly benefit the Canadian economy,” said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney in a statement put out today.

Acceptance of new applications under the federal IIP was temporarily suspended on July 1st to give the federal government time to revamp the program to address shortcomings it had according to the Immigration Ministry.

One change that CIC has signalled it is considering is requiring immigrant investors to make an active investment in the Canadian economy. The current investment requirement for applicants under the IIP is to provide an interest-free loan of $800,000 to a province or territory for five years, which CIC representatives have argued is too passive and does not contribute enough to the Canadian economy.

The online consultations are open to the public until September 4th 2012, and CIC says it is planning to re-open the investor program in the beginning of the 2013.

Another Former Immigration Official Convicted of Fraud

Posted on July 3, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

Barriero worked at the CIC office on 5343 Dundas Street until 2010 when he was suspended from his job (GOOGLE STREET VIEW)

Less than a week after the conviction of one former senior Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) official on fraud and breach of trust charges for accepting bribes, another has plead guilty to three counts of breach of trust and three counts of fraud, for taking up to $6,000 in bribes in exchange for using his position at CIC to approve applications for permanent residence in Canada.

George Gonsalves Barriero, who worked for CIC for a total of 12 years, was promoted to a senior position with the authority to approve applications or refer them for further risk assessments in 2005, and that is when it is alleged he began asking permanent resident applicants in the hispanic community for bribes.

He collected $6,000 in 2010 from two PR applicants before being reported to the police by the third applicant he approached for a bribe.

Federal and Ontario Governments to Spend $57 Million to Train Immigrants

Posted on June 26, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

Image of Toronto at night. A total of $57 million in funding will be provided by the Ontario provincial government and the federal government for projects in Ontario that assist immigrants in integrating into the Canadian labour market

The Ontario provincial government and the federal government hope to put an end to the adage of the immigrant taxi cab driver with a PhD, by spending a combined $57 million to train new Canadians to gain the credentials necessary to work in their field of study in Canada.

Data emerging over the last few years has shown a growing income gap between recent immigrants and other Canadians which has spurred the federal and several provincial governments to launch a number of initiatives to reverse the situation.

Most notably was the formation of the federal umbrella program, the Foreign Credential Referral Office (FCRO), in 2007 which funds projects run by regulatory bodies, immigrant-serving organizations and other organizations that help recent immigrants and those looking to immigrate to Canada update their foreign credentials to qualify to work in Canada in their vocation.

The $57 million of funding will be a significant expansion of government efforts to help new immigrants integrate into the economy. The federal government will provide $22 million of the funding while the remaining $35 million will come from the government of Ontario. The funds will be allocated to 70 existing and new projects in Ontario to provide “bridge training”, a term that encompasses training, Canadian work experience and assistance in getting licensed or certified to work in Canada, to new immigrants.

Canadian Immigration Official Convicted of Fraud and Breach of Trust

Posted on June 25, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

CIC office on Catherine Street in Ottawa where Serré worked (GOOGLE STREET VIEW)

Diane Serré, a former official at Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), was found guilty of 15 counts of fraud and 12 counts of breach of trust by Ontario Superior Court Justice Catherine Aitken, for using her position at CIC to help 10 immigration applicants with their applications in exchange for gifts and cash remuneration.

The investigation that led to the charges against Serré found that she worked with her esthetician, Vivian Badaan-Dakik, and her husband, Issam Dakik, to find individuals willing to pay for preferential treatment by an official at CIC. Issam Dakik plead guilty to the charges laid against him in connection with the case and was sentenced to 33 months in prison in 2006.

In her 86 page decision, Judge Aitken found that the evidence of Serré’s culpability, which included hundreds of wiretapped conversations between Issam Dakik and Serré, was “absolutely overwhelming”, and determined that she received $25,900 from Dakik as part of the scheme.

Serré’s sentencing hearing will be held on July 27th.

Health Workers Associations Lobby against Cuts to Refugee Health Care

Posted on June 19, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

Cuts to health care for refugees are hoped to reduce the growth in health care expenditures in Canada

Health workers groups held several rallies across Canadian cities yesterday to protest government cuts to health care programs for refugees.

As part of its deficit reduction program, the federal government is cutting medical services provided at no cost to refugees through the Interim Federal Health Program, limiting free services to emergency health care and treatment of chronic conditions that pose a public health threat, like tuberculosis. The government expects the move will save it $100 million over five years.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has also indicated that the move was motivated by complaints that refugees receive free dental and eye care from the federal government that Canadian citizens do not.

“Canadians have been telling us they don’t think that smuggled migrants and bogus asylum claimants should be getting better health-care benefits than Canadian seniors and taxpayers. They won’t be getting extras that Canadians don’t get, like dental, eye care, and discretionary pharmaceuticals,” Kenney said in April.

Health workers associations, including the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nursing Association and the Canadian Pharmacists Association, whose members stand to lose tens of millions of dollars in health care work due to the cuts, wrote an open letter to the federal government in May criticizing the cuts.

In the letter they argued that the cuts would shift the cost of treating refugees to other groups like provincial governments, result in complications and higher costs in the future due to refugees not getting early treatment for medical problems, increase the load on emergency departments, and lead to an increase in public health threats from contagious diseases like tuberculosis.

Gov. Agencies Now Permitted to Share Information on Immigration Rep Misconduct

Posted on June 6, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

Statue of Justicia in Ottawa Canada. New legal provisions in Bill C-35 allow government agencies to share information on professional misconduct by immigration representatives with governing bodies that license and regulate them.

Rules in place since April 10th give Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) the legal authority to share information on professional misconduct by immigration representatives with governing bodies.

CIC regularly receives complaints and tips from the public about unethical or illegal conduct by immigration representatives, but until the April 10th operation bulletin that implemented the information-sharing provisions of Bill C-35, has not had the authority to share that information with governing bodies like the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), which licenses and regulates immigration consultants.

Examples of the type of conduct that government agencies can now share allegations or evidence of are:

Failing to provide services promised to a client in an agreement
Making guarantees that the representative not capable of ensuring
Misrepresenting Canada’s immigration processes and requirements
Counselling clients to provide false information

To reduce the possibility of being defrauded, CIC recommends that people who are looking to pay for immigration representation ensure that their representative is licensed in their provincial or federal jurisdiction. A list of all immigration consultants licensed by the ICCRC to provide paid immigration consultation in Canada is available on their website.

Overseas Canadian Immigration Officers will be Anonymous

Posted on April 26, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

Canadian visa officers will be anonymous to reduce risk of corruption and threats

According to a bulletin released by the Canadian Immigration Ministry last October, Canadian visa officers working abroad will be made anonymous, with their names not being published in official Canadian documents, in order to reduce the risk of corruption and possible threats against them.

Some visa officers abroad have been subject to threats and harassment after refusing to issue visas to applicants, and in some countries visa officers currently are given a security detail.

The bulletin stated that immigrants and their representatives will continue to be able to get the names of the visa officer in charge of their case through a written request to an embassy, an access of information request or a request by their MP.

Immigration Canada Offices in St. John and Manitoba “Not Closing”

Posted on April 18, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

Earlier reports that the Citizenship and Immigration Canada offices in Winnipeg Manitoba and St. John’s Newfoundland would be closing have been corrected by CIC authorities. Neither office will be closing.

According to the latest clarification from a representative at the St. John’s office, staff at the office will be reduced by one employee and the office will remain open.

The federal government has been down-sizing several departments recently as part of a measure to reduce the growing federal deficit.