[ad_1]
Instead, Perryman says the FedEx government inserted a CD-ROM that was “stuffed†under the door of his house in Halifax and needed no encryption, passwords, or signatures to. receipt of the package. The Canadian Press saw photos of the envelope lodged in the door.
The process is inconsistent with the government’s claim that releasing screening indicators – used to screen out potential illegal immigrants before they arrive in Canada, where they could hypothetically seek asylum – would undermine safety and security. of the country, he said.
“Canada claims that if the material fell into the wrong hands, there would be substantial harm,†Perryman said. “And I got home to find it crammed in my outside door.
“Package theft is common in Canada, including in my neighborhood. It’s not a remote possibility, â€he said.
The Immigration Department said the government “takes privacy and security issues very seriously.”
“Processes relating to the transmission of court documents and the protection of privacy and sensitive information are in place and will be reiterated to all employees to avoid any further repetition,” said the spokesperson for the Immigration Jeffrey MacDonald in an email.
The package included a cover letter stating that the government had permission from court staff to send the package as a CD-ROM, Perryman added, but stressed that it was not encrypted.
The incident marks the second safety issue linked to the couple’s case this year.
According to an affidavit by a manager of the Canada Border Services Agency, the government sent Perryman files in February containing “sensitive information” on which CBSA officers had performed “redactions by applying a highlight. black â€- Microsoft Paint – which could be removed with a single click. Mouse.
A judge ordered that the copies sent to Perryman, who had passed them on to Gabor Lukacs, chairman of the air passenger rights group, be destroyed.
Now those files are back following a phone call, which resulted in the porch being delivered by postal mail last month, including to Lukacs, who found his own FedEx package coming out of his mailbox.
He says federal officials are trying to use “national security as a smokescreen to cover up racial discrimination,” an allegation the government rejects.
Lukacs also provided documents from an access to information request showing that he had received part of the same text in unredacted form which was blacked out by the CBSA. Other Western countries often publish their selection criteria, which are largely in the public domain, he said.
According to The Kisses, Roma travelers seeking to visit relatives in Canada face “systemic discrimination” from border officials.
“The humiliation we endured at Budapest Airport was exceptional, even compared to the prejudice and discrimination I have suffered all my life in Hungary. A flight to Canada was the last place I would expect to be treated this way, â€said Attila Kiss in an email.
His wife’s sister, Edit, was granted refugee status in Canada several years ago. Andrea Kiss visited her for three months in 2017 and requested a second two-month visit – still under her five-year Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) – in April 2019 to help care for her. brother after abdominal surgery at a Toronto hospital, court documents show.
At the airport with round-trip tickets – Attila also now had an ETA – on April 2, 2019, the couple were referred by authorities to officers from BUD Security, a Hungary-based company that screens passengers on the behalf airlines. The company receives training from the CBSA.
Shortly after, the Kisses learned that a CBSA liaison officer in Vienna had canceled their ETAs. When asked why, the BUD Security agent replied that “the biggest problem is that the person you are traveling to has no status” – as a Canadian citizen or permanent resident – according to a report. Kisses’ August 2020 court submission, which recorded their interaction with the agent.
The officer’s notes also indicate that the couple were “unable to explain how they could take three months off work” and “do not own a home”.
Attila Kiss, who has worked for lighting company Tungsram – owned by GE Hungary – since 1994, has been approved for a six-month leave and owns a house, court documents show.
“These alleged indicators are based on ethnic stereotypes describing the Roma as nomads who do not work or have a home,” the Kisses say in their dossier.
Perryman said asserting national security to justify withholding information, including screening indicators, amounts to opaque governance, with implications for fundamental rights.
“The problem with this approach is that it deprives all Canadians of being able to actually see the work of the court and assess Canada’s policies, whether or not they discriminate against travelers and whether or not they are defensible on behalf of Canada, “he said.
When asked why the informers should be kept secret, the CBSA cited legislation that allows the Minister of Immigration to appeal court decisions requiring disclosure of information “if, in the opinion of the Minister, disclosure would be detrimental to national security or endanger the security of an individual â€. the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states.
“No comments on its content will be provided,” CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy said of the selection criteria.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 3, 2021.
The Canadian Press
[ad_2]