An insight into why Canadian immigration/refugee policies have been an open invitation to the international terrorists, such as Tamil Tigers (LTTE), etc.

September 18, 2001

Canada must root out fake refugees

Diane Francis
Financial Post

On Sept. 23, 1997,I published a column in The Financial Post, citing Interpol sources, that dozens of Algerian terrorists were living in Montreal, posing as refugees.

In December, 1999, one of these terrorists was caught on his way to Los Angeles to blow up its international airport on New Year's Eve, 2000.

Despite the near-miss of 1999 -- and Ottawa's irresponsible failure to act on my serious warning in 1997 -- absolutely no changes have been made to immigration and refugee policy in this country. No changes have been made to bolster enforcement or investigatory manpower. In fact, budgets for investigators and prosecutions have been slashed.

And Elinor Caplan, the Immigration Minister, has slandered and libelled anyone who dares to criticize Ottawa's policies.

The past aside, it's important to understand why warnings were ignored so proper reforms can be made.

First, as happens, the Immigration Ministry circled its wagons. People always defend their incompetence, or are in denial. Most worrisome is that, over the years, those pushing a dangerous and economically damaging immigration/refugee agenda have infiltrated the highest echelons of this country. These people -- starting with Caplan herself -- must be rooted out immediately.

I began writing about these problems in 1989 when I found out about immigration/refugee scams. Three of my seven books have been about white-collar crime; I was tipped off about the problem by enforcement officials in Canada and around the world with whom I had built relationships.

My first column about this was in 1989, after my 1988 book Contrepreneurs came out. I found out that the Canadian criminals who had peddled billions of dollars worth of bogus stocks worldwide were now in the business of getting bad guys Canadian citizenship or entry. One of the most notorious fraudsters I investigated in that book -- a man originally from Africa and living in Europe -- was able to get Canadian citizenship despite a criminal record, a continuing investigation and without fulfilling the residency requirement. I tipped off Ottawa, but nothing was done to stop this disgusting human being from setting up shop in Vancouver.

I suspect bribery may have been involved, but I cannot prove this.

It became obvious to me Canada was the easiest mark in the world. It also became obvious to me there are people in this country's immigration and refugee system who may be on the take.

Which is why I believe financial resources and legal tools must now be dedicated to a swift, surgical removal of a large and growing cancer within Canadian culture.

This country has an untold number of undesirables who should be turfed out now: Russian Mafiosi; fake entrepreneurial immigrants who promised jobs and didn't deliver; Somali terrorists and warlords; Chinese triads; Honduran drug dealers in Vancouver; Tamils terrorists; and dozens if not hundreds of dangerous Muslims in Montreal.

Ottawa must commission a special police unit to hunt down those who are missing and been ordered deported. Ottawa must profile suspected terrorists and deport them if ties to suspected terrorist groups are discovered. Any immigrant or refugee convicted of a crime must be deported immediately. The government must tighten visa procedures abroad and send back immediately anyone claiming refugee status from a safe third country within the past 10 years. (The vast majority of so-called refugees enter from the United States, Europe or Hong Kong and under United Nations' refugee policy should have been turned away immediately. They weren't, for some strange and suspicious reasons.)

Lastly, Ottawa must trash its current procedures and replace all its patronage-appointed immigration and refugee judges, some from terrorist countries, with real judges who are armed with investigatory tools.

Cleaning this up must be a national priority; otherwise, the United States will tighten its border controls -- and deserves to. Truck line-ups at the border and beefed-up customs inspections will become a way of life, delaying exports to the United States. This will cost Canadians jobs as U.S. corporations will close Canadian branch plants or shelve expansion plans north of the border due to the risk of delays.

More importantly, cleaning up this situation must become a priority for the safety of Canadians. Let's not forget one plan concocted by Muslim terrorists in Montreal was to blow up a Toronto neighbourhood populated mostly by Jews.

Let's also not forget Sikh terrorists were responsible for the biggest mass murder in Canadian history -- the Air India bombing more than 20 years ago. Perhaps I first realized the threat to Canada because one of the victims of that flight was a nine-year-old girl who was my daughter's playmate. Most of those who died on that jet were Canadian immigrants from India who, ironically, fell victim to the terrorism they left behind because Ottawa didn't do its job.

Good immigration is good for a country. Bad immigration is not.

Real refugees, those living in camps because of disaster or war, should be harboured. Sick or violent people posing as refugees should not.

dfrancis@nationalpost.com