Immigration Minister Lena Diab is rejecting responsibility for a damning federal audit that found her department failed to act on widespread fraud in the international student system, even admitting she had not read the report.“We are doing our job,” Diab told the Commons immigration committee, insisting confidence in the system is being restored despite findings that officials ignored thousands of high-risk cases.Blacklock's Reporter said the report by Auditor General Karen Hogan concluded the department was “slow to act on integrity concerns” and failed to properly investigate cases where fraudulent applications were flagged. Hogan told MPs the department did not effectively follow up on high-risk files, despite identifying more than 153,000 potential cases of non-compliance with study permits.Questioned by Conservative MP Ned Kuruc, Hogan confirmed many non-compliant cases were simply not investigated. The audit found officials often failed to act even after discovering fraudulent documentation had been used to obtain study permits.In one set of investigations, auditors examined 800 study permits issued between 2018 and 2023 where applicants used fake records or misrepresented information. Of those, 710 applicants claimed to have attended institutions later found to be non-existent or effectively selling credentials for immigration purposes. Despite this, no meaningful enforcement action was taken..By the end of the audit, 92% of those individuals had either been approved for other immigration permits or were awaiting decisions, raising concerns about how fraudulent applicants were able to remain in Canada’s immigration system.The report also found the department struggled to track whether foreign students left the country after their permits expired. Of 549,000 permits that expired in 2024, about 93% of holders — roughly 509,500 individuals — were allowed to remain in Canada. Among those expected to leave, tens of thousands stayed.Auditors further criticized the department’s handling of investigations, noting that in 2023 and 2024 more than 4,000 cases were opened into potential non-compliance, but about 40% — more than 1,600 — were left unresolved because students did not respond to follow-up requests.
