The Harper Government remains committed to keeping our streets and communities safe for Canadian families. The measures announced today will streamline the removal of foreign nationals who commit serious crimes in Canada, allow for the mandatory transfer of foreign criminals back to their country of origin, and render foreign criminals ineligible for a record of suspension. This will ensure more effective removals of foreign criminals from Canada.
The legislation introduced today would amend the following four Acts:
- the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
- the Corrections and Conditional Release Act;
- the International Transfer of Offenders Act; and
- the Criminal Records Act.
Currently, there are numerous obstacles that prevent or slow down the removal and transfer of foreign nationals and permanent residents who commit serious offences in Canada. For example:
- Foreign nationals and permanent residents convicted of serious offences in Canada who are granted a record suspension cannot be removed on the basis of the conviction.
- Canada cannot transfer a foreign criminal back to their home country without the consent of the criminal.
- Foreign nationals and permanent residents believed to be inadmissible on serious grounds, whether in Canada or at a port of entry, generally can’t be found inadmissible and removed until the Immigration Division (ID) of the Immigration Refugee Board concludes an admissibility hearing.
- Refugees who are convicted of serious offences in Canada and are removed from Canada keep their protected person status, which can allow them to access support from Canada despite their inability to remain in Canada.
This Bill would remove those barriers to allow quicker removals of foreign nationals and the transfer of foreign criminals who commit serious crimes in Canada by:
- making all foreign nationals, and some permanent residents sentenced to more than six months for a serious crime in Canada, ineligible for a record suspension;
- amending the International Transfer of Offenders Act to allow in domestic legislation the capacity for Canada to transfer a criminal without their consent where provided for under the terms of a future treaty;
- expanding the authority of the Minister’s Delegate to allow the Delegate to issue removal orders to permanent residents who are inadmissible for serious offences committed in Canada, thereby eliminating an admissibility hearing before the ID. This Bill will also empower foreign nationals who concede to being inadmissible to waive the admissibility hearing and request that the ID of the Immigration Refugee Board issue a removal order; and
- revoking protected person status as a result of a danger opinion decision and allowing protected persons to voluntarily renounce their status. This would also prevent them from accessing benefits from Canada.
The proposed legislation builds on other measures the Government of Canada has brought forward to tackle crime and remove foreign nationals who commit and are convicted of serious crimes in Canada, such as the Limiting Pardons for Serious Crimes Act and the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act.