Face it, some migrants are totally abusing our immigration system

[upbeat music] A program to offer services for would-be refugees covered 16,000 people back in 2016, and it cost the taxpayers $60 million a year.

It now covers more than 600,000 people and costs more than $1 billion annually.

It's one of many signs that we can point to of a broken immigration system in Canada.

Hello, and welcome to the Full Comment podcast.

I'm Brian Lilley, your host.

The immigration system in Canada is cracking on so many fronts.

Permanent residents, foreign students, temporary workers, uh, foreign workers program, and yes, asylum or refugee system as well.

A second report this year from the Parliamentary Budget Office shows just how bad things have become.

79% of people on this program, called the Interim Federal Health Program, well, they came to Canada on another form of visa, such as student or work visa, and then declared asylum once they were here.

74,000 people who are on this program who have been denied their claims and ordered deported, and yet they're still here collecting benefits of a program that, well, gives people on it better health coverage than you would get from your provincial program if you were a Canadian citizen.

All of this costs you.

All of this undermines faith and support in our system.