According to the Globe and Mail, Federal officials have occasionally quoted a questionable source in bids to kick foreigners out of Canada – Wikipedia – and immigration judges are not amused. “Wikipedia is an internet Encyclopedia which anyone with Internet access can edit,” wrote one exasperated Federal Court judge, criticizing Ottawa’s filings in a case to remove a family of Turkish asylum seekers. “It is an open-source reference with no editorial control,” scoffed another judge, as he took federal agents to task for consulting Wikipedia before sending an immigrant back to Iran.

As it happens, magistrates often fight the encroachment of dubious encyclopedia entries into courts. After all, many undergrads would be flunked if they quoted Wikipedia in term papers, so why would bureaucrats let such an impeachable source slide into submissions? Officials say that while federal agencies “discourage” use of Wikipedia as a reference resource, they don’t outright prohibit it. That means, in rare cases, the articles end up in court filings.

This is proving controversial, especially in immigration cases. Because hundreds of thousands of foreigners flock to Canada each year, federal agents who hope to pick out the bad apples become quick studies in global affairs. Plenty of credible journals help Ottawa’s officials make sense of the world. But in a pinch there’s always the temptation of instantaneous information, which can be found at www.wikipedia.com.

The Globe and Mail article may be found here.