CBC
Radio has a draft copy of the auditor general's report and it says
there's lax surveillance and poor training in foreign missions. The
report concludes it leaves the immigration department susceptible to
fraud.
The report is to be
released on Tuesday. It says officers lack the skills to assess
whether visa applicants are a medical or criminal risk to Canadians.
And there are too few trained people within the missions to
prevent fraud in the issuing of visas.
For instance, the immigration department's office of professional
conduct estimated that the number of visas lost or stolen in 1998
had a market value of $14 million.
The draft report also found it astonishing that officers know so
little about the computer system and so little has been done to make
the files more secure. It says overseas missions are crumbling under
the paperwork.
The auditor general reminds the department that these problems
aren't new. They were first raised in a similar audit in 1990.
At the time, the department said it was taking steps to tighten
up its surveillance mechanisms, including installing a new computer
system. This new audit points out it's still too easy for people to
get their hands on phony visas.
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