This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact The Epoch Times Reprints.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner makes her way to speak with media in the foyer of the House of Commons in Ottawa on Sept. 12, 2024. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld
The Tories will introduce legislation this fall to amend the Criminal Code to prevent a non-citizen’s immigration status from being considered by judges in sentencing.
Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner announced that the Conservatives would table a bill when Parliament returns in the fall aiming to “end leniency for non-citizen criminals.”
“Since 2013, a Supreme Court ruling has permitted judges to consider immigration status when sentencing,” Rempel Garner, her party’s immigration critic, said at an Aug. 13 press conference in Ottawa. “This has been seen in several recent high-profile cases.”
The Supreme Court ruling stated that it was “wrong” for the Court of Appeal to refuse a one-day reduction of the accused’s sentence on the basis that the accused had a prior criminal conviction or on the belief that the accused had “abused the hospitality that [had] been afforded to him by Canada.” Reducing the accused’s sentence by one day would have lessened the impact on his immigration status.
Rempel Garner mentioned two examples of cases where a judge took an individual’s immigration status into consideration when deciding on sentencing.
In one case, a permanent Ontario resident received a conditional sentence in July after he was convicted of attempted commission of an indecent act with a 15-year-old in 2023. The judge imposed a conditional discharge with 12 months probation, as a stronger penalty would have jeopardized his immigration status and impacted him and his wife obtaining Canadian citizenship.
In another case, a non-citizen in Canada on a visitor’s permit was convicted of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman in a Calgary night club in 2023, and was also discharged conditionally and placed on probation for three years.
The accused would be at risk of receiving a removal order and deportation without the right to appeal if he was convicted of sexual assault. The judge’s decision to issue a conditional discharge was based on avoiding “devastating collateral immigration consequences to recording a conviction.”
“When it comes to sentencing non-citizens, Canada has essentially adopted a form of two-tier justice where judges can and have given lighter sentences to individuals who are non-citizens by virtue of this ruling,” Rempel Garner said. “This offends all principles of fairness that should be foundational to our justice system.”
The Conservative Party will introduce a bill in the fall that will add wording to the Criminal Code to outline that any impact of a sentence on a convicted offender’s immigration status, or that of their family members, should not be considered by a judge issuing a sentence.
Rempel Garner noted that while the “vast majority” of immigrants and temporary residents in Canada abide by the law, “removing non-citizens convicted of serious crimes is a no-brainer.”
“Becoming a Canadian is a privilege, not a right,” she said.
Missing Non-Citizen Criminals
Rempel Garner has raised other concerns around immigration and criminality, such as reports of foreign nationals with criminal records who were set to be deported from Canada but have gone missing.
Recent data from the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) indicated that 1,635 foreign nationals with criminal records were facing deportation as of July 16, however 599 had “failed to appear for a scheduled removal proceeding,” and had been placed on the agency’s “wanted” list.
While 315 individuals on the list have been deemed “wanted” for more than three years, around 431 of these missing individuals have committed serious offences involving a maximum of 10 years in jail.
Rempel Garner had expressed concern in a July 29 post on X that the number of missing non-citizen criminals could go higher, with the federal government “putting no limits on the judiciary considering immigration status in sentencing.”
