8 THE federal auditor me general delivered a J stinging rebuke to the federal government in -general and the immi- { gration ministry in par- ‘ticular this week in releasing his annuai report to the House of Commons, In describing the ministry's ae. track record in dealing with . refugee claims, the auditer _ general said, “the current sys- ™ tem is open to abuse and, in ~ general, does not provide swift § protection to those who really "need it.” .— Problenss outlined include, “the lack of rigor in some practices of the board {immigration and Refugee Review Board) and of the department (Citizenship and Immigration Canada).” Adinittedly, I’m not an expert in bureaucratese, but ! believe that translates to “these people on the board and in the department aren’t doing what ey are being paid to The report also cites, “the 22 difficulty in carrying out the . removal of failed refugee claimants. At the end of the . audit, the department was able -. to confirm the departure of only one quarter of the *.19,900 persons who were to ° have left the country.” °.. Worse yet, there are approximately 35,000 persons currently in the system await- ing decisions on their claims “for refugee status. Of these, 26,000 were new claims in 1996. If I do the math cor- rectly, there are still 9,000 open files waiting to be decid- ed from 1995. Considering £1998 is almost upon us, you -.” geally have to wonder what in the world is going on. * West Van Reform MP John ' Reynolds, the immigration - eritic in the Orposition, Rather ce ea A SiBaiy oa Leo Knighi crime and | punishment blames the minister directly. - “With a backlog of 35,000 persons awaiting decision at some stage of the refugee process and the auditor gener- al calling the nwo and a half’ year average in settling refugee claims as deplorable, the minis- ter should be shaken from her lethargy and excuses,” On Tuesday in the House of Commons, Reynolds attacked the minister on the report asking, “This depart- ment has 35,000 people in the backlog of refugees and we have 16,000 peop!c ordered deported. What is the minister geing to do, and tell the Canadian people, to solve this problem, not next year, or the year after, but right today?” Good question. The answer, unfortunately, from the minister, Lucienne Robillard, was not so good. mailbox Ske failed to address the ques- tion, ducking and weaving, essentially saying her ministry would be considering the report and studying it, “because it is a very complex process.” No argument there, minis- ter, But surely the Canadian public can expect something better than “studying” and “considering” when it comes to some 16,000 people wan- dering free in Canada when they have already been ordered deported. Revnolds has been after the minister for answers concern- ing the percentage of the 16,00 who are actively engaged in criminal activity. He hasn’t been very successful in getting those responses. However, a 24-hour snapshot of the arrest records of the Vancouver Police Department appear to show a disturbing trend. From Nov. 20 to Nov. 23, 30 people were arrested for various offences in the City of Vancouver alone who were referred to the immigration department. Threat, assault, possession for the purpose of trafficking, fraud, carrying a concealed weapon and trafficking a nar- cotic were among the charges listed against these individuals. Of the 30, only eight did not have a verifiable criminal record in Canada. Bear in mind, this is only one 24-hour period. Fam told this occurs every day in the city. North Van, Surrey, Burnaby and the rest of the Lower Mainland jurisdictions are not included in these num- bers. The auditor uses terms like “scrious difficulties processing refugee claims.” He describes such problems as “lack of rigor” and “lack of co-ordina- tion” between the board and the department. Reynolds says the report is a scathing indict- ment of the department. Ar the end of October, 70 immigration managers from the western region spent an idyllic week at the Lake Okanagan Resort to “develop and renew strategies to build a learning organization for the B.C., Prairies and Territories Region.” A leaked memo described the purpose of the seminar saying, “we want all staff to share in the organization's learning, development and Homeowners need protection Dear Editor: In the article “Home Warranty Pushed” (Nov. 28 News), I would like to correct a potential ambiguity in my comments which may lead to a misleading conclusion on the applicability of current home owner warranties to existing buildings. My remarks were intended to point out that the situation for home owners AT LARGE is disastrous. Recent coverage - on the CBC, BC TV, and the Vanconver Sun indicates that the problem is so wide-spread thar municipalities and the B.C. legislature must take strong political action. This situation cannot be Ieft unchecked. The real estate businesses, the banks, the Canada Mortgage — and Housing Corp., professional engineers and architects are also responsible for this disas- trous state of affairs. “Tissot -PR100 Lady- Ti+ TISSOT Swiss Watches since 1853 Importers of Gemstones. Manufacturets of Fine Jewellery Park Royal S., West Vancouver 925-2043 National standards regard- ing design, materials and application of these to water- entry protection do not ade- quately shield the buyer in Jery Zaslove zaslove@sfu.ca : up ta 4 Friday, December 5, 1997 — North Shore News — 7 AG's report reveals a refugee mess responsibilitics.” Over 16,000 people are cluding the law and evading their deportation orders. The department has a backlog of over 35.000 gases. The police are arresting, dozens every day for newly conunitted criminal offences and the immigration managers are hanging around the spa at the Lake Okanagan Resort on our dime, “sharing in the organization’s learning, development and responsibilt- ties.” The minister wants to study the “complex issue.” Something is dreadfully wrong. — lknighr@direet.ca amass cooling System Service “moved” Cornplete rad Meh plus oil & filter change, including ail materials 1362 Marine Drive 280-9115 Mon-Sat 8:30arn-6:30prm, Sun. 9:00am-5:00pm : Expires Dec. 19, o7 We believe God's love is the greatest love of all. Come to church Sunday. For the love of your life. NCRTH LONSDALE UNITED Worship, & Sunday School 10: 30 am 3380 Lonsdale & 985-4911 pluStaxes & jenviro. levy 04 wheel brake inspection ‘and yeport . undertiood fluid top up .° extgmal lights & tire inspection . Limited time offér.