Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is calling for his department officials to launch an investigation into concerns over P.E.I.’s Provincial Nominee Program after an article published in The Huffington Post this week showed immigrants used the program to buy their way into Canada.
The report, written by journalism students at the University of King’s College, details how thousands of Chinese and Middle Eastern immigrants were nominated by P.E.I. for permanent residency in Canada through P.E.I.'s PNP in exchange for investments into local businesses. But it highlights the fact many of those immigrants had no active involvement in these companies and that most have left P.E.I. after securing their Canadian visas.
TO READ GUARDIAN REPORTER TERESA WRIGHT'S FIVE-PART INVESTIGATIVE REPORT INTO THE PROVINCIAL NOMINEE PROGRAM, CLICK HERE
Kenney said Thursday he has referred these newest reports on P.E.I.’s PNP to his department for ‘further investigation.’
“If what has been reported is true, it confirms what I have been saying about problems in some provincial nomination streams. It also confirms what I have heard for some time about the cynical abuse of passive immigrant investment programs,” Kenney said in a statement.
“It appears that some provinces, including P.E.I., have been raking in huge fees for both government coffers and financial 'arrangers' while paying little or no attention to the needs of the immigrants themselves or of the local economy. It's wrong, it's not what provincial nominee programs are intended for, and we do not tolerate this sort of abuse.”
Premier Robert Ghiz reacted to Kenney’s statements Thursday by pointing out Citizenship and Immigration Canada already closed P.E.I.’s former immigrant investor program and changed regulations to disallow investments by immigrants who take no active involvement in Canadian companies.
“They were the ones who put (the program) there in the first place. So he can start by investigating his own department,” Ghiz said.
The premier shrugged off Kenney’s intentions to further investigate P.E.I.’s controversial Provincial Nominee Program.
Last September, Citizenship and Immigration called in the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency to investigate allegations of bribery and fraud it received regarding the P.E.I. PNP from three former public servants.
At this point the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency are still conducting a preliminary probe to determine if a full investigation is necessary.
Opposition Leader Olive Crane said she is not surprised Kenney has decided to launch his own probe of the controversial program.
She has long been critical of the Ghiz government’s handling of the program and has been calling for a public inquiry into the PNP since 2009.
“(Ghiz’s) job as premier is to protect Islanders, the business community and the immigrants, so again, because he has chosen not to do that, this issue is going to continue and continue and continue.”
P.E.I.’s Provincial Nominee Program has been shrouded in controversy here in the province since the fall of 2008. The Guardian has printed over 100 articles with details on this program.
The PNP offered permanent Canadian residency to immigrants who invested between $105,000 and $200,000 on P.E.I., some of which went into an Island company. It was established to encourage immigration to the province by attracting foreign nationals interested in taking an active role in local businesses.
Problems arose when the government ramped the program up in the summer of 2008 and pushed through as many immigrant nominations as it could after the federal government announced it was changing its rules to disallow the way P.E.I. was investing immigrant monies.
The federal government required nominated immigrants to take an active, day-to-day role in the companies they invested in. P.E.I.’s program did not offer an active role to PNP investors.
A total of 1,877 PNP applications were processed between April and Sept. 2, 2008. That’s more than double the total amount processed in all of 2007.
(With files from The Huffington Post Canada)
Here are some quick facts on P.E.I.'s PNP:
- The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) offered expedited Canadian visas to immigrants who invested between $105,000 and $200,000 on P.E.I., some of which went into an Island company. It was established to encourage immigration to the province.
- The feds suspended P.E.I.'s program after they discovered P.E.I. was allowing immigrants to invest in companies in which they had no active involvement
- The province's auditor general launched an investigation into the program and found the government broke or sidestepped rules, changed rules without approval and approved businesses for PNP investments that didn't qualify
- Several sitting and former MLAs accessed immigrant money for their personal businesses
- Three deputy ministers and their spouses received PNP money for their companies, including Brooke MacMillan, who was deputy in charge of the program when controversy hit. He also approved changes to the PNP that made his own business eligible to receive funds. His wife also received PNP funds. Premier Robert Ghiz ordered MacMillan to pay the money back and he did.
- Immigrants who have come to P.E.I. through the PNP have complained of problems accessing their $25,000 good faith and $20,000 language deposits, charged in addition to their PNP investment.
- Immigrants have staged protests at the premier's office to raise concerns over their deposit return problems and problems accessing English language classes
- Questions remain about whether business owners who benefited from PNP investments were connected to MLAs and senior bureaucrats, especially after the province's privacy commissioner refused to release information detailing what businesses received funds from this program
- Allegations of bribery and fraud involving P.E.I.'s PNP surfaced last September and were forwarded by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada to the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency for investigation.
The report, written by journalism students at the University of King’s College, details how thousands of Chinese and Middle Eastern immigrants were nominated by P.E.I. for permanent residency in Canada through P.E.I.'s PNP in exchange for investments into local businesses. But it highlights the fact many of those immigrants had no active involvement in these companies and that most have left P.E.I. after securing their Canadian visas.
TO READ GUARDIAN REPORTER TERESA WRIGHT'S FIVE-PART INVESTIGATIVE REPORT INTO THE PROVINCIAL NOMINEE PROGRAM, CLICK HERE
Kenney said Thursday he has referred these newest reports on P.E.I.’s PNP to his department for ‘further investigation.’
“If what has been reported is true, it confirms what I have been saying about problems in some provincial nomination streams. It also confirms what I have heard for some time about the cynical abuse of passive immigrant investment programs,” Kenney said in a statement.
“It appears that some provinces, including P.E.I., have been raking in huge fees for both government coffers and financial 'arrangers' while paying little or no attention to the needs of the immigrants themselves or of the local economy. It's wrong, it's not what provincial nominee programs are intended for, and we do not tolerate this sort of abuse.”
Premier Robert Ghiz reacted to Kenney’s statements Thursday by pointing out Citizenship and Immigration Canada already closed P.E.I.’s former immigrant investor program and changed regulations to disallow investments by immigrants who take no active involvement in Canadian companies.
“They were the ones who put (the program) there in the first place. So he can start by investigating his own department,” Ghiz said.
The premier shrugged off Kenney’s intentions to further investigate P.E.I.’s controversial Provincial Nominee Program.
Last September, Citizenship and Immigration called in the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency to investigate allegations of bribery and fraud it received regarding the P.E.I. PNP from three former public servants.
At this point the RCMP and Canada Border Services Agency are still conducting a preliminary probe to determine if a full investigation is necessary.
Opposition Leader Olive Crane said she is not surprised Kenney has decided to launch his own probe of the controversial program.
She has long been critical of the Ghiz government’s handling of the program and has been calling for a public inquiry into the PNP since 2009.
“(Ghiz’s) job as premier is to protect Islanders, the business community and the immigrants, so again, because he has chosen not to do that, this issue is going to continue and continue and continue.”
P.E.I.’s Provincial Nominee Program has been shrouded in controversy here in the province since the fall of 2008. The Guardian has printed over 100 articles with details on this program.
The PNP offered permanent Canadian residency to immigrants who invested between $105,000 and $200,000 on P.E.I., some of which went into an Island company. It was established to encourage immigration to the province by attracting foreign nationals interested in taking an active role in local businesses.
Problems arose when the government ramped the program up in the summer of 2008 and pushed through as many immigrant nominations as it could after the federal government announced it was changing its rules to disallow the way P.E.I. was investing immigrant monies.
The federal government required nominated immigrants to take an active, day-to-day role in the companies they invested in. P.E.I.’s program did not offer an active role to PNP investors.
A total of 1,877 PNP applications were processed between April and Sept. 2, 2008. That’s more than double the total amount processed in all of 2007.
(With files from The Huffington Post Canada)
Here are some quick facts on P.E.I.'s PNP:
“They were the ones who put (the program) there in the first place. So he can start by investigating his own department,” - Premier Robert Ghiz
- The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) offered expedited Canadian visas to immigrants who invested between $105,000 and $200,000 on P.E.I., some of which went into an Island company. It was established to encourage immigration to the province.
- The feds suspended P.E.I.'s program after they discovered P.E.I. was allowing immigrants to invest in companies in which they had no active involvement
- The province's auditor general launched an investigation into the program and found the government broke or sidestepped rules, changed rules without approval and approved businesses for PNP investments that didn't qualify
- Several sitting and former MLAs accessed immigrant money for their personal businesses
- Three deputy ministers and their spouses received PNP money for their companies, including Brooke MacMillan, who was deputy in charge of the program when controversy hit. He also approved changes to the PNP that made his own business eligible to receive funds. His wife also received PNP funds. Premier Robert Ghiz ordered MacMillan to pay the money back and he did.
- Immigrants who have come to P.E.I. through the PNP have complained of problems accessing their $25,000 good faith and $20,000 language deposits, charged in addition to their PNP investment.
- Immigrants have staged protests at the premier's office to raise concerns over their deposit return problems and problems accessing English language classes
- Questions remain about whether business owners who benefited from PNP investments were connected to MLAs and senior bureaucrats, especially after the province's privacy commissioner refused to release information detailing what businesses received funds from this program
- Allegations of bribery and fraud involving P.E.I.'s PNP surfaced last September and were forwarded by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada to the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency for investigation.
