December 17, 2004
More trouble for Sgro
Immigration Minister Judy Sgro was probably thanking her lucky stars. The Fall Session of Parliament had ended and MPs, the media and the general public were turning their attention away from her woes and onto more important things. What she did not realize was that one of those more important things is that some people in her ministry have been allegedly selling access to Canada.
Yes, you read that correctly. The RCMP charged an Immigration Ministry Employee with fraud and other corruption related crimes for having charge some Arabs seeking Permanent Resident status up to $25,000 to fast-track their applications. Police say the Immigration employee was the only person with access to all of the internal Departmental information need to make the operation viable. These charges have yet to be proven in court.
So Ms. Sgro finds herself in a bit of a quandary. Normally a Minister would be front and centre condemning the corruption and breach of trust. Unfortunately, the allegation bears an eerie similarity to the one leveled against her.
Each involves an individual fast-tracking Immigration files for personal gain. In the case of the Immigration Ministry employee, the personal gain was monetary; for Ms. Sgro it was the advantage of additional office staff for her election campaign. So if she speaks up she looks like a hypocrite, if she stays silent she looks as though she doesn't care. What's worse, the similarities between the two case hobble her ability to credibly deal with the apparent corruption in her Ministry.
It would be easier for all involved if she just resigned - but don't hold your breath.
Further Reading:
RCMP arrests federal immigration official (CTV News)
Immigration fraud no surprise, lawyer says
Posted by maxthecat at December 17, 2004 10:03 AM
http://www.maxsmewsings.com/mt/archives/2004/12/more_trouble_for_sgro.php