Immigration Appeal Division: Permanent Resident

Canada Dept: Few will dispute that Canada should be able to deport serious criminals who aren t citizens. Convicted murderers leap to mind, as do terrorists and violent sex offenders. But what about a 50-year-old who came here as a permanent resident as a child from the United States, say, or China or Portugal, who never took out citizenship but built a life here, and who commits a relatively minor offence?, according to The Star. If passed in its current form, C-43 will make it easier for Ottawa to deport such people on grounds of criminality by restricting their right to have the Immigration Appeal Division review their cases. Currently, people can appeal if they are sentenced to less than two years. Bill C-43 will restrict it to those who get less than six months and just how tough does Canada need to be with people who live here as permanent residents and have never become citizens, if they run afoul of the law? That s the issue raised by Bill C-43, the Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act that Parliament is now studying before voting it into law. This latest aspect of Prime Minister Stephen Harper s get-tough-on-crime agenda is an abusive piece of legislation that needs a rewrite. Setting aside whether such people should be regarded as foreigners, should they be swiftly deported to a country where they may have no close family, no job prospects and where they might not speak the language all for getting into a fist fight outside a nightclub, which can draw a six-month jail term for common assault? Or for shoplifting, dangerous driving, causing a public disturbance, threatening to damage property, or mischief? (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.