This is probably what the big announcement was all about. Still going to have to wait a bit longer to find out details for next MI. Hang in there.
http://m.ctv.ca/topstories/20120619/Kenney-to-announce-swift-deportation-of-foreign-criminals-120619.html
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is set to unveil tough new measures to quickly deport foreigners who serve more than six months in jail, CTV News has learned.
Kenney will announce that refugees, immigrants and visitors to Canada who are convicted of a crime and serve more than six months behind bars will be deported soon after their release, CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported Tuesday night.
"They will lose their right to appeal," Fife said, noting that the new measures will fulfill one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's key campaign pledges.
In its election platform, the Conservative Party had outlined proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Criminal Code to allow foreign criminals who have completed their sentences to be deported immediately.
The Conservatives promised to streamline the deportation process, saying that some foreign criminals "have evaded removal from Canada for over a decade as they exploit endless appeals and loopholes."
Kenney is set to officially unveil the new deportation rules Wednesday afternoon in Ottawa.
The Conservative government's Bill C-31, which overhauls the country's refugee and immigration system, recently passed third reading in the House of Commons.
Kenney has spoken publicly about his desire to speed up the deportation process for foreigners convicted of crimes.
In a speech he gave to University of Western Ontario law students more than a year ago, Kenney said there have been a number of cases where people with multiple convictions or run-ins with the law have remained in Canada for years.
"It is cases like these that frustrate Canadians, and understandably. We should not dismiss those frustrations. We should listen to them and take them seriously," Kenney said at the time.
