＂ILLEGALS NOT WELCOME＂ Alberta Begins SUDDEN DEPORTATIONS!
Episode Stats
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141.5556
Summary
The Canada Border Services Agency conducted immigration checks which brought work to a grinding halt Wednesday morning at a construction site in Calgary, Alberta. What was the reason for the immigration check? And what will it mean for the thousands of workers on site?
Transcript
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We had to grab our IDs and that we would be at the front gate and ID'd and questioned and then
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some returned to work and some didn't. The Alberta government is not playing games.
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Deportations and local immigration enforcement are now a reality in Alberta streets. And this
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has illegal immigrants worried as Alberta becomes the first jurisdiction in Canada
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to seriously enforce immigration law. We got I-style enforcement happening right here,
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right now in Alberta. Let's dive in. Calgary police and federal immigration officers paid a
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surprise visit this morning to the construction site at the city's new event centre. The Canada
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Border Services Agency conducted immigration checks which brought work to a stop. Mark
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Villani has more from legal experts and reaction from those working on site. Construction is in full
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swing at Calgary's new event centre until it all came to a grinding halt Wednesday. Officers with
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the Canada Border Services Agency arrived on scene conducting what's called a regulatory compliance
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check for employees and contractors of Canna Construction. Calgary police say they were only
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there to ensure safety as federal officers carried out immigration status verifications. For workers
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at Scotia Place, this sudden inspection was unsettling. There was a lot of concern, a lot of people
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who were mad. A lot of people here were in disbelief. So you have this massive construction site in the
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city of Calgary, Alberta's largest city. And in a combined effort of local Alberta authorities, as well as
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federal enforcement agencies, they conduct some sort of surprise immigration check. Presumably because they
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suspected that there were some individuals who might have been undocumented in the worksite. Whether they
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received a tip from the public directly or someone indicated to them what was going on, that's not
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known at this time. But what we do know is this was obviously unexpected by the company and the workers
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who were present at the site. Danielle Smith, our Premier here in Alberta, has indicated previously that
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our government has been looking into ways within her jurisdiction that she could discourage illegal
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immigration and abuse of our system by people coming from other provinces and out of country.
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Immigration enforcement is still a federal responsibility, but she did signal that she would
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do everything within her power to make the situation better for Alberta workers. I wonder if this is what
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she was referring to, especially considering the fact that Calgary police is Alberta, part of Alberta police,
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and they participated in the operation. What do you think? This is common in Canada, but it's uncommon in
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Calgary. Immigration lawyers say these types of operations are part of a broader shift in CBSA
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enforcement, which includes the hiring of another 1,000 new officers across the country. As a result of
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the Liberal government sort of immigration policy, we've got hundreds of thousands of temporary residents
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in Canada that simply can't navigate their way to permanent residency, so a lot of them are choosing
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to work without authorization. Other legal experts add that it's unlikely CBSA would show up without cause,
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especially for major operations involving levels of various employees. In large-scale projects,
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you may have GCs, general contractors, who are abiding by the rules, but they are contracting out so much work,
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I don't know what checks and balances exist. But for those still on site, some hope this disruption
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doesn't put a stop to one of Calgary's largest construction projects. We need every man and every
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woman here. Of course you always have the bleeding hearts who will make excuses for illegal behavior to
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virtue signal or whatever, but then you also have those with something to gain from the situation.
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The so-called not-for-profits or TV lawyers who advocate for illegal immigrants while ignoring the fact that
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this does have a negative impact on the citizens and legal immigrants currently in the country.
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Those people are now competing for these jobs with people who shouldn't be employed to begin with.
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Canada has become notorious for people overstaying their visas, coming in as students and staying for work,
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or even never showing up to the school they were supposed to. The country has also accepted a
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ridiculous amount of temporary foreign workers in a time when young Canadians are struggling to find work.
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In what world is this a good idea? But common sense and sound policies have become a very rare commodity
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in today's Canada. Mark is at that Scotia Place construction site tonight. So Mark,
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do we have any indication as to what prompted this immigration inspection?
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Well, Tara, police and federal officials have not told us yet what triggered this inspection, but
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immigration experts tell us that these checks often come from tips that they receive or as part of
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broader enforcement campaigns. Legal experts tell us that if violations are found, employers could face some
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very serious fines as well as significant penalties, even temporary bans on hiring foreign workers.
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The CBSA, Canna Construction, as well as Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation,
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did not respond to our questions about what prompted this inspection as well,
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or if any illegal workers were found in this inspection.
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School is almost out and so are students, many eager to snag a summer job.
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Oh my gosh, I've probably sent out close to 10 resumes for around my area, yeah.
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But finding and securing one is proving harder and harder for students across the country.
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But there's no denying the demand for jobs is being felt here at home. A recent job fair at the Halifax
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shopping center drew a big crowd. We definitely saw between 100 and 150 people come out for the job fair,
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which is significant. We saw anywhere from high school students to certainly university,
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and you know, younger grads. But even with help, students say it continues to be a struggle.
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In the summertime, it can be quite competitive. And due to my age, it's hard to find opportunities
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out there to get a paid job. Look, at some point, a society has to realize that governments are there
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to serve their citizens. That's how it's supposed to work. But what we have lately is governments who
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serve themselves, non-citizens, and even citizens of other countries, while neglecting their own people.
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The first responsibility of any government is to put their people first, to serve their citizens first.
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Everything else should come second to that. But that's not what's happening in Canada today.
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You've failed as a government when you have thousands of unemployed young Canadians desperately looking
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for work while you import thousands of people from other countries to take these jobs. I don't care
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what the story is. I don't care what kind of excuse they're coming up with. It's just wrong, plain and simple.
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So it is refreshing to see immigration enforcement taking place here in Alberta as the rest of Canada
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continues to fall into chaos. I hope to see even more ways in which Alberta can protect its workers,