The feds have no idea where are 34,000 foreigners ordered to be expelled: Auditor General

OTTAWA – The federal government does not know the whereabouts of over 34,000 foreigners who were ordered to be removed from the country, including nearly 3,000 criminal cases, according to findings by Canada’s Auditor General.

“The timely removal of foreign nationals who are found inadmissible protects the integrity and fairness of Canada’s immigration system. It is also one of the most effective ways to deter those who might otherwise seek to abuse the system. In the case of criminals, timely removal protects the safety and security of Canadians,” reads the report published on Wednesday.

In Canada, if a foreign tourist overstays their visa or an asylum claimant’s request is denied and they’ve exhausted all their legal recourses to appeal, the federal government can emit an enforceable removal order towards that person to ensure they don’t remain in the country. From that point on, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is responsible to enforce their removal.

Failed asylum cases constitute the largest portion of foreigners ordered to leave the country each year, according to the report.

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But the number of asylum claims increased significantly in the last three years, jumping from 50,000 in 2017 to 64,000 in 2019. Thus, the CBSA considers that the number of removals it must execute will also continue to increase in the future.

And yet, the department struggles to expel those foreigners, the auditor general concluded. In 2018-2019, CBSA only managed to remove 6,700 cases from its removal backlog.

“The Canada Border Services Agency removed few of the foreign nationals in Canada who were subject to enforceable removal orders. Despite a recent increase in removals, the level of enforceable removal orders remained largely unchanged, even for priority cases… Most orders had been enforceable for several years,” the auditor general writes.

That issue may be related to the fact that CBSA has in fact lost track of 34,700 individuals ordered to be removed and who now have a warrant in their name. Of that number, nearly 3,000 are considered to be top priorities because they are criminal cases, i.e. they may pose a safety or security risk.

Canadian law demands that CBSA and police forces investigate once every year or three years (depending on the case) for new information on their whereabouts.

But the audit found that they rarely do that either.

“We determined that at least 70% of all criminal cases were not reviewed annually, and 75% of all failed asylum cases were not reviewed every 3 years as required. Agency officials confirmed that cases in its wanted inventory are generally considered a low risk to public safety and are not an agency priority,” reads the report.

The federal government watchdog also found significant issues with the government’s data quality, case management protocols and information sharing between CBSA and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which led to “avoidable delays” in thousands of cases.

In another audit on how the government manages post-secondary student loan programs, the auditor general concluded that Employment and Social Development Canada did not do enough due diligence before accepting certain loans. The Canada Revenue Agency, which is responsible with recouping any outstanding loans (currently valued at $2.4 billion), didn’t have all the necessary tools in place to do so.

“The value of student loans that are not repaid to the federal government is significant, and according to the Chief Actuary of Canada, the value is expected to increase. Non-repayment of loans is a cost and could be a burden for taxpayers,” reads the report.

A third audit published Wednesday on military equipment procurement found that poor supply chain management” often prevented the Canadian Armed Forces from receiving necessary material when needed.

“The military received materiel such as spare parts, uniforms, and rations later than the requested date half the time. Delays were frequently due to stock shortages. When stock is unavailable, materiel needs to be located elsewhere and transported to the right location, requiring additional steps in the supply chain and delaying deliveries. We found that a third of some 1 million requests were rerouted,” the audit explains.