The federal immigration minister is facing increasing pressure to clarify whether the Irish hip-hop group Kneecap is indeed banned from entering Canada, or if the Liberal official who announced the move was approved to make that assertion in a contentious social media post.
In a letter to Immigration Minister Lena Diab on Thursday, NDP MP Jenny Kwan, the party’s immigration critic, urged Diab to say whether the group is indeed banned after the minister and other officials have repeatedly refused to answer questions on the case for almost two weeks.
The band says it has yet to receive any official notice about an entry ban or denial of their electronic visa authorizations.
“Canadians and visitors to Canada deserve to know that they are not subject to arbitrary and politicized weaponization of public policy for political purposes,” Kwan wrote.
“We need to rebuild integrity into the system in this time of misinformation.”
Liberal MP Vince Gasparro, the parliamentary secretary for combating crime, announced on Sept. 19 “on behalf of the Government of Canada” that the band’s members had been deemed ineligible for entry ahead of scheduled concerts this month, based “on the advice of our officials.”
Kwan wants Diab to answer if the officials Gasparro referenced are in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and if she or other IRCC officials authorized Gasparro to speak on their behalf publicly.
The letter also asks if Kneecap were ever formally banned from entering Canada or if they are permitted to enter, and if the Prime Minister’s Office or any other government officials or agencies were involved in approving Gasparro’s announcement.
Kwan pressed Diab on some of those questions during question period on Thursday, but Diab declined to directly answer.
“If no one authorized it, can the minister advise what formal action will be taken to address this serious misrepresentation of authority? Canadians deserve to know,” Kwan said.
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Diab responded by reading nearly verbatim a statement IRCC sent to Global News earlier this week — a message that has evolved in real time — that did not comment on Kneecap’s specific case.
“Persons seeking to come to Canada must meet eligibility and admissibility requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act,” Diab said.
“Each case is assessed individually. Entry to Canada may be refused for a number of reasons. Individuals whose electronic travel application has been declined can re-apply by doing an eTA once they address the reasons that it has been refused.”
Kneecap’s manager has told Global News the band has heard nothing from the Canadian government about members’ eTAs being denied beyond Gasparro’s video, and has not received guidance on their current status since.
A spokesperson for Kwan said she intends to submit a written order paper question on the issue, which will require the government to respond in writing within 45 days.
Should a probe ask whether MP ‘lied?’
Kwan’s letter adds to the pressure on the Liberal government to explain why no further explanation or official notice has been provided to the band or the public since.
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Conservative Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman told Global News in an interview Wednesday she would support an investigation into whether Gasparro “lied” in announcing the apparent entry ban or if he contradicted official policy.
“I would suspect that in any other workplace you would be reprimanded for that. And in this case, you wouldn’t be a parliamentary secretary anymore,” she said.
Kwan’s spokesperson said she would request a study at either the House of Commons ethics or immigration committee, but she will need a sitting member to support her call. The NDP has no permanent membership on House committees after losing official party status in the last federal election.
A spokesperson for Gasparro’s office said he had “no further comment” in an email Wednesday and deferred questions to IRCC, after making a similar comment last Friday.
Diab did not stop to answer questions from reporters on Kneecap’s case while heading into the Liberal caucus meeting in Ottawa on Wednesday.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s office has also deferred questions to IRCC, and the Prime Minister’s Office has not responded to requests for comment.
In his video announcement on Sept. 19, Gasparro cited a U.K. terrorism-related charge against Kneecap member Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh as a reason for denying entry to Canada. A British judge tossed out the criminal case last Friday, but no one in the government has said if the apparent entry ban remains in place.
The charge, which was dismissed after a British court said it had been laid too late, came after authorities had alleged Óg Ó hAnnaidh waved a flag of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah during a London concert last year.
Hezbollah is a listed terrorist organization in both the U.K. and Canada.
Kneecap has accused critics of trying to silence the band because of its support for the Palestinian cause throughout the Israeli military’s destruction of Gaza. The band says it doesn’t support Hezbollah and Hamas, nor condone violence.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and Jewish advocacy organization B’nai Brith Canada, which had advocated for the ban, have praised the government for Gasparro’s announcement.
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