Immigration minister doesn't know whereabouts of 800 confirmed fraudsters

Lena Diab told Conservative MPs on Tuesday that her department doesn't know the whereabouts of 800 'foreign students' who used fraudulent documents or misrepresented information on their applications between 2018-2023.

 

Liberal Immigration Minister Lena Diab admitted on Tuesday that she is unsure what has become of the 800 individuals who are confirmed to have committed fraud on their applications to the controversial International Student Program.

Diab was grilled by Conservative MPs at the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration who questioned her about the findings of a March 23 report on the International Student Program by Auditor General Karen Hogan.

The report found that at least 800 'foreign students' who were allowed to enter Canada between 2018-2023 used fraudulent documents or misrepresented information on their International Student Program applications.

Conservative MP Brad Redekopp questioned Diab about the current whereabouts of the confirmed fraudsters over a month after the Auditor General's report was released. “Speaking of the 800 fraudsters you allowed to enter Canada, how many of them are still in the country?” he asked.

“I don’t have that information,” replied Diab.

Despite the 800 cases of fraud being confirmed through internal investigations by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) years before the Auditor General's report was released, the department took no enforcement action in any of the 800 cases.

Redekopp pressed Diab further, questioning her about how many of the fraudsters made false asylum claims and if she has any idea where they may currently be residing.

“As far as the 800 fraudsters that your department didn't investigate, do you know where they are right now?” he asked. Appearing to avoid direct answers, Diab simply stated that her department has an "action plan" to address the state of disarray within the immigration system.

The Auditor General highlighted that IRCC only investigated a small fraction of the broader 153,000 international students flagged for potential non-compliance between 2023-2024.

The March 23 report revealed that 92 per cent of 800 identified fraudulent applicants subsequently applied for additional immigration permits. Despite the findings, more than half of these subsequent applications were approved by the department.

Donate to Rebel News

Unlike almost all of our mainstream media competitors, Rebel News doesn’t receive any government funding. We rely on our generous audience to help keep us reporting.

Rebel News

Staff

Articles written by staff at Rebel News to help tell the other side of the story. 

COMMENTS

Showing 2 Comments

Please check your e-mail for a link to activate your account.
  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2026-05-06 19:58:09 -0400
    And these people think they know more than us? Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaathetic!
  • Bernhard Jatzeck
    commented 2026-05-06 17:50:29 -0400
    Funny how federal cabinet ministers in the last decade can’t seem to remember where they put things. Money is one of those things whose whereabouts seem to have escaped them.