Ottawa, March 10, 2009 — Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney today addressed the issue of immigration fraud before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration and launched a video warning against the dangers of unscrupulous immigration representatives offering immigration services.
“Our government takes a zero-tolerance approach to immigration consultant fraud. We are continuing to work to expand warnings about fraud against potential applicants and to combat illegal activities related to immigration,” said Minister Kenney.
The Minister highlighted recent progress on the file, including a personal commitment from the Chief Minister of Punjab to step up efforts in the fight against fraudulent consultants who operate out of Chandigarh, India. A number of arrests of allegedly unscrupulous consultants have already been made. The Punjab state government and Canada’s visa office in Chandigarh will be working to address immigration consultant fraud.
Minister Kenney also underlined the importance of raising awareness in preventing consumer fraud, and said the new video warns against the dangers of hiring unscrupulous representatives who offer immigration services. The video features an immigrant family from Chile that was a victim of a fraudulent representative and includes tips on how to choose an authorized representative if an applicant decides to seek assistance with an application.
The video will soon be available to media in Canada, via satellite, for use as a public service announcement, and it will be posted on YouTube. In the coming weeks, multilingual versions will be distributed to overseas missions and regional offices in Canada, among other outlets.
“This kind of tool, combined with multilingual warnings on our website and mission sites around the world, demonstrates the commitment of this Government to protecting potential immigrants and their families from unscrupulous immigration representatives who charge exorbitant fees and either fail to deliver promised services or provide false information about Canada’s immigration programs,” said Minister Kenney.
The Minister added that he also plans to consult with stakeholders and with recent immigrants on their experiences and suggestions for ways to improve prevention and enforcement efforts. “This is a priority for me in the months ahead, and I look forward to working further with the Standing Committee, other government partners, and key stakeholders on this important issue,” said the Minister.
To download the video, please visit the CIC website.
The video is also available by satellite or by CNW’s Broadcast On-Demand web download: Combating Immigration Fraud
Satellite Feed Coordinates:
TIME OF FEED: 1:30 PM EDT – 2:00 PM EDT
DATE OF FEED: March 10th, 2009
CO‑ORDINATES: Anik F2 C, Transponder 3B
Audio subcarrier 6.2 and 6.8
Downlink frequency 3820 vertical
For further information (media only), please contact:
Alykhan Velshi
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Alykhan.Velshi@cic.gc.ca
Media Relations Unit
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
