Revised - A former Yukon government employee is among five people charged with violations of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Criminal Code.

On Thursday, from Vancouver, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced the results of Project Husky, a five-year investigation into a large-scale alleged immigration fraud scheme.

The Yukoner facing charges is Ian David Young, aged 59.

Young is currently wanted on a Canada-wide arrest warrant.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts in encouraged to call the CBSA’s anonymous Border Watch Line by dialing 1-888-502-9060. Any other suspicious immigration activities can also be reported at that number.

The investigation began in 2015.

It was based on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada officials’ identification of suspicious documents submitted as part of permanent residency applications.

“On the surface, these appeared to be nomination certificates from the Government of Yukon issued under the Yukon Business Nominee Program,” the CBSA said.

“However, the Government of Yukon confirmed these documents were non-genuine and had not been issued by their office.

“Since the non-genuine documents were detected during the processing of applications, none of the applications to immigrate to Canada were approved. Therefore, no one obtained permanent resident status as a result of this alleged scheme.”

The CBSA Criminal Investigations Section executed numerous search warrants in the Yukon and British Columbia seeking evidence of the alleged fraud scheme.

The other accused persons, all of Richmond, B.C., are:

• Tzu Chun Joyce Chang, 49;

• Qiong Joan Gu, 66;

• Aillison Shaunt Liu (also known as Allison Shaunt Liu), 31; and

• Shouzhi Stanley Guo, 38.

They are scheduled to appear in court in Richmond on Dec. 23.

“Project Husky shut down a large-scale alleged immigration fraud scheme that impersonated a legitimate nominee program,” said Nina Patel, the CBSA’s regional director general for the Pacific region.

“This investigation highlights the CBSA’s commitment to protecting Canadians and prospective immigrants from the threats posed by unlawful activities.”

During Thursday’s question period in the legislature, Yukon Party MLA Brad Cathers asked Economic Development Minister Ranj Pillai about the charges against Young.

Armed with search warrants, the RCMP visited offices of that department in 2019 and seized files and computers.

“It’s before the courts, so we can’t offer much comment,” Pillai told the legislature.

Since the issue involves the period from July 2013 to September 2016, Pillai said, Cathers should ask his caucus colleagues about the situation, since the Yukon Party formed the government during that period.

At a subsequent media scrum, Pillai told reporters he was “kind of surprised when the Yukon Party asked the question. I was expecting the NDP to raise the issue.”

Pillai said the department has introduced new policies and procedures since the time of the alleged offences.

While he didn’t offer details, he was confident the new measures would safeguard against such incidents in the future.

The CBSA is responsible for enforcing the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It investigates and prosecutes cases where there is evidence of violations.