NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East) released a statement and said that following concerning reports of Punjabi international students facing deportation orders due to a targeted exploitation scheme by a fraudulent immigration agent, her office has been working with the Canadian Federation of Students, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, and Migrant Rights Network to advocate for impacted students so they can stay in Canada.She said that last week, she wrote to the Minister of Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety to urge the government to i

Almost 700 firefighters from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the United States are set to arrive in Canada over the next two weeks to help with the unusually severe start to the wildfire season.There are already more than 500 international firefighters, incident commanders and other workers in Alberta, which has been battling multiple severe fires since early May.Most of the additional help will also go to Alberta, though some are being sent to Nova Scotia where out-of-control fires have been wreaking havoc since last weekend.Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says the

The federal government is proclaiming a National Day Against Gun Violence, to be held annually on the first Friday of June.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and representatives of the Toronto Raptors basketball team are set to discuss the plans today at an event in Toronto.The government says the goal of the national day is to raise awareness and foster a national discussion about the causes and effects of gun violence.It comes as the Senate reviews a government bill that would cement restrictions on handguns, increase penalties for firearm trafficking, try

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appointed a new head of the federal public service.John Hannaford, who is currently the deputy minister of natural resources, will become clerk of the Privy Council next month.Janice Charette, the current clerk, is set to retire June 24 after nearly 40 years in the public service, including as Canada's envoy to Britain.Hannaford was also a deputy minister of international trade and a foreign policy adviser to Trudeau, and served as Canada's ambassador to Norway from 2009 to 2012.Trudeau says in a statement that Hannaford brings a wealth of experience and a str

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says the government is using a new system to bring spouses, children and parents of recent immigrants to Canada more quickly.Family members who want to move to Canada can apply to join their sponsor while they wait for their permanent residency to be approved, but they're often denied the necessary visa because of concerns they're unlikely to leave once it expires.The new system uses advanced analytics to identify people who have a permanent residency application in the system and approve their visa to visit Canada more quickly.The minister says he hopes the tu

A Florida man has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling charges after the frozen bodies of a family of four migrants were found near the Canada-U.S. border last year.Steve Shand, 48, entered the plea today via videoconference as part of his long-delayed arraignment in Duluth, Minn.Shand faces one count each of bringing people into the U.S. illegally and of transporting them inside the country.He was arrested in January 2022 in a remote area of northern Minnesota, where border agents encountered him with two Indian nationals in a rented passenger van.Just over the border, near Emerson, Man., RC

Quebec Premier François Legault says the province will require that the vast majority of economic immigrants to Quebec speak French before they arrive.Sixty-five per cent of immigrants to Quebec come through the economic immigration stream, which is controlled by the province.Legault says his government is also considering increasing the number of immigrants it accepts every year to 60,000 people from 50,000 people, by 2027.He says the rise in immigration would come from people arriving through the economic stream, adding that his government is not considering increasing the number of people

More than a dozen MPs in the Canada-Pakistan friendship group are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call out Pakistan's arrest of its former prime minister.Imran Khan, who is now the opposition leader in Pakistan, was arrested earlier this month on corruption and terrorism charges triggering violent protests.The country's supreme court ordered Khan released saying the arrest was illegal.Khan was ousted as prime minister last year in a non-confidence vote he claims without proof was part of an illegal plot orchestrated by Washington and his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.Sixteen

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is leaving the door open should Independent MP Han Dong decide he wants to rejoin the Liberals.The Toronto MP resigned from the government caucus earlier this year, saying he wanted to clear his name following allegations published in media reports.Global News reported, citing unnamed national security sources, that Dong told a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 that releasing Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor would benefit the Conservatives.David Johnston, whom Trudeau appointed to investigate the government's response to foreign interference, said that allegation