The Conservatives are calling for “deportations” after a terrorism watchdog warned that lax immigration policies have allowed terror-linked individuals, including top Iranian officials, into Canada.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner criticized the Liberal government following news that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada had allowed entry to more than 17,600 foreign applicants with criminal convictions.
Noting a recent Toronto Sun article highlighting a post from the Council for a Secure Canada, an advocacy group created by victims of terrorism, Rempel Garner took to X saying the reports merely confirmed what Canadians “already knew,” that the Liberal government doesn’t “screen anyone,” before allowing them into Canada.
“It could have dire consequences for Canada and the world,” she said in a post on X. “Any temporary resident convicted of any crime must be deported. And people with ties to terrorist organizations shouldn’t be admitted into Canada to begin with. Those shouldn’t be controversial statements.”
Later on Thursday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre sent out his call to the Liberal government.
“Liberals let Tehran-linked terror agents into Canada where they harass and threaten our people,” Poilievre said on X. “Deport them now.”
Poilievre similarly criticized the Liberal government for allowing a recently listed terrorist group, Samidoun, to hold onto its charitable tax status in Canada despite being banned.
“Totally Insane,” he said. “Lock up their leaders. Strip their charitable tax breaks.”
Secure Canada noted a 2023 report which found a suspected 700 agents of the Islamic Republic in Canada. Once they are in the country, there is a host of bureaucracy and legal avenues that individuals can take to delay deportation.
Last month, the Canada Border Security Agency confirmed it had found 20 senior Islamic regime officials inadmissible to Canada, 19 of them were already in the country, and only one had been deported, another was denied entry.
“For years, individuals with credible and documented ties to the Iranian regime have been manipulating every tool of our weakened system to avoid deportation,” Secure Canada posted on X. “This includes resorting to claims of ‘non-refoulement’ to defend against deportation orders.”
The group said claiming things such as “non-refoulement” means that even if a refugee commits a crime or is guilty of being a part of a terrorist organization or terror-supporting regime, such as the Islamist state in Iran, individuals could delay or even prevent their deportation, claiming they could be threatened if they return.
Last year, immigration lawyer Sergio Karas similarly told True North how difficult it is to deport terrorists and other human rights violators from Canada once they are already in the country. One such case he noted was Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who was convicted for a terror attack in Athens in the 1960s but took 26 years of legal battles to be expelled finally.
Secure Canada further noted that the dramatic increase in immigration numbers, paired with an understaffed and underfunded immigration and border enforcement departments, resulted in an overloaded and backlogged system, which has led to a “fundamentally porous vetting approach” in Canada.
The watchdog claims that the surge of new immigrants led Canada’s border security agencies to do away with in-person interviews and to “rely increasingly” on metadata processing tools, online portals and one-touch processing.
“The system is more concerned with lowering wait times for applicants and hitting targets than proper vetting, the safety of Canadians, or the health of our social fabric,” the terror-watchdog continued. “Our investigations reveal that there is minimal focus on enforcement and exceptional pressure to admit.”
The group called on the feds to implement “broad, deep and comprehensive reforms” in staffing, legislative and policy changes, training, technology, and process reviews.
“Most important, we need our federal government to make it clear: Canada is our collective home—and we will defend that home without apology,” the group said. “While we will always be hospitable to newcomers, our system must be overhauled to firmly close the door to those who seek to take advantage or pose a threat to Canadians. Especially those involved with the murderous Tehran regime.”