Listen to this article
Approximately 2 minutes
The audio version of this article was created using artificial intelligence technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We work with our partners to continually analyze and improve results.
The Canada Border Services Agency says 15 foreign nationals facing extortion charges have applied for refugee status in Canada.
The CBSA statement did not disclose the nationalities of the individuals or details of their claims, but the mayor of Surrey, British Columbia, Brenda Locke, says she is “shocked” to learn that the suspects are claiming refugee status to avoid deportation.
Locke says the extortion attempts have disproportionately impacted her city, and its residents deserve better than to see Canada's legal and immigration systems “abused by criminals to prolong their stay in Canada.”
The mayor says suspected extortionists “must face swift justice” and the federal government must immediately enact immigration and deportation laws to protect communities like hers, where there have been 106 reported extortion cases this year, according to the Surrey Police Service.
The CBSA says Canada has legal obligations regarding asylum, and Canadian law allows refugee claimants to have their cases heard if they are eligible.
But the agency also says that if people don't have a right to a hearing for “more serious reasons,” it will ask the Refugee Board of Canada to pause proceedings until it can decide whether people have a right to a hearing.
The CBSA says that “those found to be inadmissible” for reasons such as “serious criminality” or “organized crime” will not have their refugee claims considered and will instead be ordered to leave the country.
The refugee status suspects' claims were first reported by Global News.
Federal officials announced Friday they will provide more than $1 million to a British Columbia task force investigating a series of extortion cases in the Lower Mainland. Criminologist Ghalib Bhayani, a former RCMP official, says violent and traumatic extortion cases cannot be properly investigated without strong international cooperation, especially with Indian authorities.
British Columbia has been hit by a wave of extortion crimes and shootings that officials say are largely targeting the South Asian community.
A provincial task force was created to combat a string of extortion cases, and the City of Surrey create a reward fund encourage the dissemination of information that leads to a conviction for extortion.
