More than 10,000 removal warrants in the Canada Border Services Agency inventory have been active for more than a year — even though the agency says removals are at an all-time high.
CBSA statistics show more than 33,000 removal warrants in the current inventory. Agency vice-president Aaron McCrorie said more than 22,000 people have been removed from the country in the last 12 months.
The CBSA says nearly 30,000 removals were “in progress” as of Oct. 31.
McCrorie said the CBSA processes a “never-ending” stream of people entering the country, including citizens returning from abroad, tourists and asylum seekers.
The vast majority of people deemed inadmissible to Canada are barred for not complying with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. They can include temporary residents violating the terms of their permits.
McCrorie said that only 2.2 per cent of people deemed inadmissible to Canada are barred due to criminality.
He said more than 70 million people came through Canadian ports of entry in the last year, “some of whom will be declared inadmissible and some of whom will then fail to comply with the requirements to leave the country.”
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“So it’s a constant dynamic in terms of new people entering our inventories,” McCrorie said in an interview from Rigaud, Que.
“Most people comply, but some don’t.”
Information provided in response to an order paper question submitted by Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel-Garner shows more than 10,000 removal orders have been active for more than a year.
McCrorie said CBSA has a team of about 550 inland investigators who work to track down people with warrants. He said that staffing level rises and falls based on overall risk, since the CBSA also has responsibility for drug trafficking prevention and facilitating legitimate cross-border traffic and trade.
Police across the country also have access to CBSA warrant information, McCrorie said.
“There are many instances where the police will apprehend somebody at a traffic stop who’s got a warrant and then they’ll turn them over to us, or we’ll get a lead or a tip from the public that would allow us to do an inland investigation and track somebody down,” he said.
The CBSA says it removes about 400 people a week from Canada and McCrorie said more warrants are constantly being added to the inventory.
During an appearance at the House of Commons national security committee on Tuesday, McCrorie compared executing removal warrants to trying to bail water out of a bathtub with the tap running.
McCrorie said that in the last two fiscal years, 9,500 warrants in the inventory were closed, while 7,000 more were added.
The federal government announced plans to hire 1,000 more CBSA officers in October.
McCrorie said the hiring will happen over a three-year period to ensure people with the right skill sets and backgrounds are being recruited and trained.
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