Conservative MPs are pushing for urgent action after an Auditor General report revealed widespread problems in Canada’s international student program, including 153,324 suspected cases of visa fraud.Shadow Minister for Immigration Michelle Rempel Garner said the federal government is failing Canadians by investigating only a fraction of these cases. “At a time when Canadian youth are desperate for jobs and support for immigration is at generational lows, it is past time for the government to act,” she said.The Conservative motion at the Immigration committee calls for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to investigate all alleged cases of international student permit fraud, provide monthly updates starting May 15, and report how many of the 153,324 suspected fraudsters were granted further visas or remain in Canada. The motion also seeks the identities of 110 asylum seekers linked to fraudulent study permits to be shared with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, and demands that the government prevent anyone entering Canada fraudulently from receiving future visas.Rempel Garner said Ministers Lena Diab, Sean Fraser, and Marc Miller should appear before the committee, along with IRCC and IRB officials, to explain how the system reached this point. “Canadians deserve transparency, fairness and accountability in their immigration system, and we are prepared to fight for that,” she said.
