CALGARY — An Ontario judge has sharply criticized the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), saying he has little faith the agency will deport a foreign national who continued committing crimes years after receiving a removal order.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Justice Michael Wendl of Hamilton issued the remarks while sentencing a 30-year-old foreign student who remained in Canada despite a deportation order issued in 2022 and a lengthy record of theft-related offences.“Ultimately I have no confidence that the Canada Border Services Agency will actually deport,” Wendl wrote in a recent ruling involving Manjeet Singh, who pleaded guilty to stealing $3,268 worth of liquor from two Hamilton stores in 2025.The judge rejected Crown prosecutors’ recommendation of a 90-day sentence, noting prosecutors had argued Singh faced deportation. Instead, Wendl imposed a one-year jail sentence, expressing skepticism that immigration authorities would follow through on removing him from Canada.“Put bluntly, a deportation order has been in place for nearly four years,” Wendl wrote. “During that time he has been in custody on serious criminal charges under which the Agency could have readily located and removed him, yet no action has been taken.”Court records showed Singh arrived in Canada as a foreign student attending an unnamed community college and accumulated a criminal record dating back to 2021. Despite multiple arrests, jail terms and probation orders, he remained in the country.Wendl noted Singh signed a deportation order on Oct. 27, 2022, but continued to commit offences afterward.“Of particular concern to the Court is the existence of a deportation order dated October 27, 2022 signed by Manjeet Singh directing his removal,” the judge wrote.The ruling states Singh spent roughly 45 days in custody in 2024 without being deported. In 2025, he spent five months and 23 days behind bars on charges that included robbery, theft over $5,000 and breaching probation conditions, yet again remained in Canada after his release.The court described Singh as a repeat offender involved in “organized, targeted and brazen thefts.”In addition to the 2025 liquor thefts, the judge cited $7,248 worth of liquor stolen from Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores in 2023, another $1,010 in liquor thefts in 2024, and two thefts from Home Depot locations in 2025 involving merchandise valued at $17,587..Border services execs suddenly discover ‘deleted’ ArriveCan evidence.“Mr. Singh is clearly travelling throughout the province and targeting certain retailers,” Wendl wrote.The judge also highlighted the broader impact of retail theft on taxpayers, noting the LCBO is a Crown corporation whose revenues help fund public services.“The impact of thefts from the LCBO is significant and not to be dismissed,” he wrote.“Since the LCBO is a Crown agency and is classified as a taxpayer-owned enterprise, their revenues help pay for health care, education and other important government programs in Ontario.”“Losses to the LCBO are losses to every single resident.”Wendl further suggested courts should no longer assume deportation is a likely consequence for offenders simply because a removal order exists.“In my view, going forward, the bare assertion of potential immigration consequences without supporting evidence may no longer suffice for a court to find that collateral immigration consequences are established,” he wrote.The ruling comes amid growing scrutiny of the CBSA’s enforcement efforts. During testimony before the House of Commons public safety committee on Oct. 23, CBSA president Erin O'Gorman acknowledged the agency was attempting to locate approximately 32,000 people subject to deportation warrants.Conservative MP Frank Caputo expressed disbelief at the figure during committee proceedings.“I’m sorry, there are 32,000 people set for deportation who are on warrant, which means you don’t know where they are?” Caputo asked.“We have 32,000 deportation orders,” Caputo later remarked.“This is half of Kamloops we’re talking about. Thirty-two thousand people are lost.”
