Border Services red faced after imprisoned Canadian proves ID

[JustAnotherGuy]

Originally Posted by starseed

I dont understand why some think this is not a black eye on the Canadian government. I do not think I am alone in thinking this is very embarassing. It is frightening to think I could be turned away from entering my own country because of the incompetence of a government office. It is enraging to think I could be thrown in jail virutally by my own government because of their screw up.

I want action taken on this issue. I want the government officials to stop saying 'no comment' and start saying 'we admit we made a mistake, we are doing everything we can to make this right and bring her home'. This cannot be pushed aside as a minor issue.

Unfortunately you can't seem to get the story straight so how can a person decide whether to support your point or not.

You should be red-faced because you are not concerned with the facts. It is a black-eye for your cause.

[Hack&Lube]

Does she have any legal recourse to any compensation or is it just "sorry, we screwed up, had you thrown in African prison, separated you from family, insulted you across political channels, made you suffer and lose out financially, made you lose your job, etc."

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

The picture of her in the passport and the picture of her on the website, they look absolutely nothing alike. At the end of the day it is important to realize that there are people all over the world who will do anything and who have done anything in order to get into this country. There are fake Canadian passports which flood the international market and with some of them they are done so well that we rely on the wherewithal of Border Services to catch these people.

How did the government officials make a mistake, it was just the bureaucracy which has been in place longer than the current government?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

The picture of her in the passport and the picture of her on the website, they look absolutely nothing alike.

Makes me wonder about the new passport rules that say you are not allowed to smile. My 2001 passport looks a lot more like me than my 2007 passport. I understand not allowing big goofy toothy grins, but other countries are now saying that a "Mona Lisa" smile is permitted.

[Bagor]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

The picture of her in the passport and the picture of her on the website, they look absolutely nothing alike.

But where do you stop with that given it's 10 years between passports? People dye their hair etc ...

Not to mention that I'm going on vaction next week with a just turned 3 year old whose passport pic looks like a bit of chewed up gum with eyes.

Matter could have been easily resolved with a fingerprint if they'd retained it. I still don't get the purpose of disposing of fingerprints post citizen application. Why take them in the first place?

[Hack&Lube]

There is also the issue of the glasses and the headscarf and lighting conditions. The headscarf does make it problematic to recognize the person.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Bagor

But where do you stop with that given it's 10 years between passports?

Passports for adults are only valid for 5 years.

[starseed]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherGuy

Unfortunately you can't seem to get the story straight so how can a person decide whether to support your point or not.

You should be red-faced because you are not concerned with the facts. It is a black-eye for your cause.

What am I waffling on? What fact am I missing?

If my 'cause' is having some accountability in government agencies, I fail to see how any argument I make would put a black eye on that 'cause'.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

There is also the issue of the glasses and the headscarf and lighting conditions. The headscarf does make it problematic to recognize the person.

That is true with regards to a headscarf (hijab), now I respect their religion, but in term of safety, if it is something that is easily removable and that can interfere with proper identification on something like a passport. We wouldn't allow someone to wear a burqa for a photo, why should we allow a headscarf, especially when it comes to identification of an individual.

[starseed]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

The picture of her in the passport and the picture of her on the website, they look absolutely nothing alike. At the end of the day it is important to realize that there are people all over the world who will do anything and who have done anything in order to get into this country. There are fake Canadian passports which flood the international market and with some of them they are done so well that we rely on the wherewithal of Border Services to catch these people.

How did the government officials make a mistake, it was just the bureaucracy which has been in place longer than the current government?

Yep, this is a non-partisan issue. But the government officials are responsible. They were given ample evidence to support her claim, more than just a passport photo... yet they still came to the conclusion that they should hand her over to Kenyan authorities and help the Kenyans build a case against her.

[MacDaddy77]

[quote=starseed;1980423]If this had happened to me, I cannot imagine how livid I would be after getting back. quote]

I really hope that people don't take this the wrong way but...

The only people that this ever happens to are the visible minority.

If you are White and English speaking there is NO chance it would happen to you.

I do agree with you that once again it appears that the Canadian Gov't will come out of this mess with at the least some egg on their face.

I do not hold our government is much esteem when it comes to protecting our "nationals" rights when being persucuted abroad.

Whether Canadians are guilty or innocent we should still have our rights fought for by our Country and the Gov't we voted to put in power.

[starseed]

If her last name was 'Martin' I am sure the government would have fought for her to be brought back to Canada. Even if she were found guilty of money laundering. *cough*

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Bagor

I still don't get the purpose of disposing of fingerprints post citizen application. Why take them in the first place?

I would assume it's a privacy issue.

Presumably, they take them in the first place to ensure the person doesn't show up in any criminal databases. Once they come back clean, there would probably be many people who would be angry if the government kept the records on file.

[redforever]

Reading through some of the comments at the link provided, I came upon this one. The logic works for me.


"I don't have a problem with this person being detained on the basis that she didn't look like the picture in her passport. That is what we pay the Border and Embassy staff to do. Protect our country from impostors. Don't criticize these people for doing their jobs.

I do have a problem with the process the lady had to endure to prove her identity. If the passport is not adequate to identify ones self, then we need a better document and or backup process. DNA works for me, but the time to perform the test is long. Finger prints? Retinal scans? Heart beat, or lack thereof. I think fingerprints would probably be the least costly to implement."

[starseed]

I would not have a problem if this were just a case of bad passport photo, and she was just held by the Canadians, but she gave ample proof of her being a Canadian. She gave credit cards, a letter from her boss, a dry cleaning receipt from a place near her residence... could they not have interviewed her kid and husband back in Canada? The thing that gets me, is that she was not only forced to give herself up to the Kenyans, but the government encouraged them to prosecute, and gave her voided passport as evidence against her.

The Star claims the case was not re-opened until they started reporting on it.

[ikaris]

Originally Posted by MacDaddy77

The only people that this ever happens to are the visible minority.

If you are White and English speaking there is NO chance it would happen to you.

I think this is the point that needs to be emphasized. Anyways, she'll have a nice lawsuit against the Canadian government to come home to.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Yep the Kenyans saw that she was a visible minority and denied her passport.

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherGuy

Yep the Kenyans saw that she was a visible minority and denied her passport.

Are you going to actually make a point in this thread or just keep coming back with dumb comments?

[ikaris]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherGuy

Yep the Kenyans saw that she was a visible minority and denied her passport.

I don't think anyone has an issue with the Kenyan officials initially questioning the passport photo. The problem lies with the Canadian High Commission:

Originally Posted by The Star

On May 21, after a Kenyan airport official suggested Mohamud's lips and eyeglasses were different from her four-year-old passport photo, the hapless traveller laid out all her ID at the Canadian High Commission.

She displayed her Ontario driver's licence, OHIP card, social insurance card and Canadian citizenship certificate.

She showed her credit card, two bank cards, Shoppers Drug Mart Optimum card, Humber River Regional Hospital Card and a recent dry cleaning receipt from One Hour Brighten Cleaners on Lawrence Ave. W., near her Toronto address.

She produced a letter from her Toronto employer, ATS courier service, about a recent promotion.

The high commission rejected them all. Worse, instead of helping Mohamud, they sent her voided passport to Kenyan immigration authorities to help them prosecute her.

"We have carried out conclusive investigations including an interview and have confirmed that the person brought to (us) on suspicion of being an imposter is not the rightful holder of the aforementioned Canadian passport," Canadian High Commission first secretary Liliane Khadour wrote to Kenyan immigration authorities on May 28.

Great work indeed.

The article continues:

Originally Posted by The Star

On two occasions, federal officials in Canada appeared to suggest Mohamud had switched identities with a sister. She has four half-sisters by the same father.

Well, considering all black people look the same, I understand where our officials were coming from. You're right though, absolutely no racial profiling going on here. We can completely trust our government.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by starseed

If her last name was 'Martin' I am sure the government would have fought for her to be brought back to Canada. Even if she were found guilty of money laundering. *cough*

I don't know about that.
It's not like we have Bill Clinton running around rescuing people.