The Federal Court of Canada has authorized a class-action lawsuit accusing the government of overcharging visa applicants, local media reported Saturday.
The lawsuit alleged that since 1998, Canada's Department of Citizenship and Immigration has been overcharging fees from people applying for immigration visas, including visitors, foreign workers or students and people seeking permanent residency in Canada, Can West News Service reported Saturday.
Ottawa was alleged to have illegally raked in more than 700 million Canadian dollars (about 700 million U.S. dollars) over the past decade from new immigrants.
Canada's federal departments are forbidden, under the Financial Administration Act, to charge any more in fees than the amount they need to recoup the cost of their services. The Act also requires departments to have mechanisms in place to ensure that profits are not made from public services.
In a separate case involving the New Brunswick provincial government last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the government must repay service fees to citizens if those fees were illegally obtained.
Richard Kurland, a Vancouver lawyer spearheading the suit, said the Immigration Department has been "systematically violating" the law for years, in many cases charging more than double of what it costs to process visa applications.
According to the lawsuit, immigration visas cost the government at most 360 Canadian dollars (about 360 U.S. dollars) to process. But newcomers to the country are charged as much as 550 Canadian dollars for a visa.
Experts say if the class action succeeds, it could have an impact on governments of all levels across the country.
"The principle involved here is an extremely important one. All governments charge fees for various services. The question this case raises is how responsible those governments should be in how they cost out these things," said Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman.
Source:Xinhua
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