Ministers Who Keep Blocking One Law for All Must Be Fired

Ottawa, ON - Today, the Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, Member of Parliament for Calgary Nose Hill, released the following statement regarding Justice Minister Sean Fraser and Immigration Minister Lena Diab's continued employment:

"Mark Carney has said on multiple occasions that the Liberals have 'taken back control' of Canada's immigration system. But lenient sentencing for non-citizens is still rampant within Canada, allowing many non-citizens who have committed serious crimes to avoid deportation. We have seen multiple examples of this since the House rose in June, including:

• A 34-year-old Ghanaian temporary resident was convicted of theft after a violent confrontation. He was granted a conditional discharge, with the judge explicitly citing his non-citizen status and the risk of deportation as a reason for the lenient outcome.
• A 33-year-old Nigerian man was convicted of breaching a no-contact order with his former partner. On appeal, the judge substituted a conditional discharge, citing the risk of deportation as a key reason.
• A temporary resident from India pleaded guilty in June to sexually assaulting a woman in Prince George, BC. He only received 170 days of house arrest plus 18 months' probation. The judge declined to put him on the National Sex Offender Registry, citing potential immigration consequences that could lead to his deportation.

"Despite the ever-growing list of examples, Minister Lena Diab has stated on the House floor that lenient sentences for serious criminals in Canada do not exist. These types of rulings now happen so frequently that a judge in Montreal accused Montreal prosecutors of proposing 'candy' sentences for criminals at risk of deportation, affirming that this is a common practice across the country.

"That's despite the Pham decision explicitly ruling that consideration of immigration status does not constitute a Charter right, a remedy, or a Charter breach. Instead, these inappropriate sentences are being used to circumvent longstanding immigration law, which requires non-citizens convicted of a serious crime in Canada to be deported.

"That law is there for a reason. Giving non-citizens who have been convicted of serious crimes in Canada lenient sentences in order to avoid deportation creates a two-tier justice system where Canadian citizens are given harsher sentences than non-citizens who broke our laws.

"Not only is this hostile to the common good, but it sends a clear message to non-citizens across Canada: It's okay to break Canada's laws with impunity, because non-citizens can stay in our country, cities and communities even if they commit serious crimes like sexual assault.

"Meanwhile, as Global News reported last week, the Canadian Student Visa Program was used as a catalyst for foreign criminals to enter the country and expand their criminal organizations. Commenting on the story, Professor Kelly Sundberg described the rise in crime as a 'a perfect storm of nonsensical policy and law resulting in a flood of young foreigners into Canada with limited supports for them once here, leaving them prey for the criminals of their home country to recruit them here … Ottawa is 100 per cent to blame.'

"Canadians want change. That's exactly why in the past year, Conservatives have proposed policies, amendments and legislation that would:

• End the practice of non-citizen's immigration status being considered in criminal sentencing;
• Restoring real and full security and criminal vetting of foreign students and workers;
• Amending the definition of serious criminality in the immigration refugee protection act to ensure serious crimes face serious consequences;
• Ensuring ministers issue detention orders and law enforcement issues warrants when someone poses a risk to public safety;
• Penalizing lies and fraud in immigration applications;
• Firm deadlines for judicial review processes; and
• Transparent reporting requirements on warrants and deportations that Canadians can review.

"But those who are directly responsible for the mess of our immigration system, including now Minister of Justice Sean Fraser and current Minister Lena Diab, have failed to make any changes or be held accountable. Fixing these problems is not a difficult proposition if they just stopped blocking Conservatives' proposals and started implementing them.

"Canadians deserve an immigration system that preserves a high-trust society where new immigrants can integrate, a society where our laws are enforced equally. That's why we need one law for all. If the Justice and Immigration Ministers aren't willing to pass policies to restore faith in our immigration system, it's time for the Prime Minister to fire them.

"Canada's Conservatives stand ready to propose ideas and work collaboratively with anyone who is willing to fix Canada's profoundly broken immigration system."