There are over 29,000 foreign fugitives currently throughout the country, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.In their report to MPs, management referred to this group as their "wanted inventory," which consisted of foreign individuals who had been convicted of crimes.“The wanted inventory includes cases under review to determine if a warrant is required or cases where a warrant has been issued for the arrest, detention and removal of a foreign national,” the Agency wrote in its report to the Commons Public Accounts committee.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the number of foreign fugitives totalled 29,248. Another 10,041 foreigners banned from Canada were deported.“The complexity of cases in the ‘removals working’ inventory has steadily increased since 2011,” wrote the Agency. “It requires more effort from the Agency to enforce removal orders.”MPs insisted on receiving frequent updates regarding the number of fugitives. This demand for updates came in response to a 2021 audit report Immigration Removals, which revealed that the Agency had lost track of 2,800 foreign criminals who were in Canada.“Criminal cases are very important for public safety,” Auditor General Karen Hogan testified at the time.“Overall, we found the Agency’s approach to managing removal cases had not resulted in the timely removal of inadmissible foreign nationals,” said Hogan. The audit found at least 70% of criminal cases were not reviewed annually and lapsed year after year.Auditors said even where the Agency had not lost track of deportees, enforcement could take years. “We estimated about 1,500 cases had been inactive for at least two years,” they wrote. “Most had not been worked on for several years.”The Agency has spent $34 million a year on its deportation program. The Commons Public Accounts committee in a 2021 report said Canadians deserved to know how many fugitives remained at large.“The Agency did not remove the majority of foreign nationals who were subject to enforceable removal orders as soon as possible in order to protect the integrity of the immigration system and maintain public safety,” wrote the committee.Information obtained through Access to Information records, filed by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, showed that foreign fugitives included individuals accused of serious crimes. These charges and convictions included murder, assault, drug trafficking, fraud, and theft.Concerns about the insufficient tracking of foreign fugitives have been raised since the 2014 Senate National Security committee hearings. Senators expressed their frustration with the Agency's inability to remove individuals who did not have the legal right to stay in Canada.“I don’t quite understand why we would tolerate this,” said then-Senator Daniel Lang (Yukon).
