According to a federal government report obtained by The Toronto Sun on Friday, 310 foreign terrorists, spies and war criminals tried unsuccessfully to enter Canada between November 2015 and December 2016.
The information was gleaned from an immigration department document that captures the number of people who are deemed “inadmissible” for entry into Canada under section 34 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
The Liberal government had no intention of making the information public.
Those denied entry were only the ones that were caught, but the report does not indicate whether or how many unauthorized persons are successfully circumventing the IRPA.
The 310 cases were categorized as “engaging in terrorism,” “engaging in an act of espionage or subversion,” “subversion by force,” being member of terrorist espionage organization, being a “danger to the security of Canada,” and having committed a war crime or crime against humanity.
Conservative MP Tom Kmiec from Calgary, Alberta asked for the information and provided the report to the True North Initiative, a Canadian conservative think-tank that describes itself as “an independent, non-profit research and educational organization dedicated to advancing sound immigration and security policies. … Our mission is to champion sound immigration and security policies and lead a national conversation on how immigration can boost the economy.”
The report is silent about the country of origin or nationality of those deemed inadmissible, making it impossible to draw further conclusions about which geographic areas are most liable to export terrorism or subversion to Canada.
In 2011, the federal government first released its “Most Wanted List” because reports revealed that a minimum of 30 war criminals and terrorists were at liberty in Canada.
This new report, which illustrates just how much Canada remains a key destination for terrorists and war criminals, was quietly released in conjunction with President Donald Trump’s executive order to temporarily ban visiting nationals from seven countries.
U.S security watchdogs, like the Washington D.C.-based Center for a Secure Free Society, have sounded the alarm that Canada’s lax immigration system is a weak link in North American security.