On October 19, 2015, Canada will have a federal election. There are three political parties that may form government. One of them is the New Democratic Party. The New Democratic Party has made the following election promises regarding immigration: Remove the cap on parent and grandparent sponsorships imposed by the Conservatives. Reduce wait times by increasing resources to reduce the huge backlogs in processing applications. Put greater priority on family reunification, especially the reunion of children with their parents. Fully restore the Interim Federal Health Care Program for refugees, as ordered by the Federal Court. Reverse the what the NDP calls discriminatory changes to refugee determination and ensure that every refugee claimant receives a fair and unbiased hearing. Make the visitor visa system more transparent and accountable, including by creating an appeal process. Create an ombudsperson for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration to investigate complaints and monitor human rights. In consultation with communities, provinces and territories, introduce a comprehensive action plan to foster immigration to Francophone minority communities across the country. Resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees in Canada by the end of this year. Welcome 9,000 Syrian refugees per year starting in 2016. Create a Syrian Refugee Coordinator to expedite and coordinate the … Read More
Certified Question on Removal Orders for Permanent Resident Visa Holders at the Port of Entry
On March 17, 2015, Justice Montigny in Ismail v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 338 (“Ismail“), certified the following question: For the purposes of determining its jurisdiction to hear an appeal pursuant to subsection 63(2) of the IRPA, shall the validity of the permanent resident visa be assessed by the IAD at the time of arrival in Canada or at the time the exclusion order is made?
Federal Court Affirms New ESDC Internal Part-Time Recruitment Policy
In January 2015 the Federal Court released its decision in Frankie’s Burgers Lougheed Inc. v. The Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada, 2015 FC 27 (“Frankie’s Burgers“). Frankie’s Burgers is one of the first Federal Court decisions involving an employer seeking judicial review of a decision of the Ministry of Economic and Social Development Canada (“ESDC“) to not issue a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA“), which was then referred to as a Labour Market Opinion (“LMO“). Frankie’s Burgers should be read by all representatives and employers who submit LMIAs. In my opinion, the case shows that the Federal Court seems prepared to show much greater deference to ESDC in its administration of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (the “TFWP“) than it does to both Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board. Lawyers who were anticipating that the Federal Court would force ESDC to change some of its (often internal and secretive) policies should also take pause.
CIC to Begin Sharing Information on Citizenship Applicants with the Canada Revenue Agency
On February 28, 2015, the Government of Canada announced in the Canada Gazette that it would begin enhanced information sharing between Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) and the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA“). To many representatives who have been stunned at how many people can seemingly get away with reporting different information to the two government departments this is welcome news.
Supreme Court of Canada Affirms That State Cannot Undermine Duty of Loyalty to Client
The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC“) in Canada (Attorney General) v. Federation of Law Societies of Canada, 2015 SCC 7, has affirmed that some provisions of Canada’s anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing duties unreasonably impedes the lawyer’s duties to both keep their clients’ confidences and to act with the commitment to serving and protecting their clients’ legitimate interests. In doing so, the SCC has held that it should be recognized as a principle of fundamental justice that the state cannot impose duties on lawyers that undermine their duty of commitment to their clients’ causes. The SCC’s decision contained the following key passages: The duty of lawyers to avoid conflicting interests is at the heart of both the general legal framework defining the fiduciary duties of lawyers to their clients and of the ethical principles governing lawyers’ professional conduct. This duty aims to avoid two types of risks of harm to clients: the risk of misuse of confidential information and the risk of impairment of the lawyer’s representation of the client (see, e.g., Canadian National Railway Co. v. McKercher LLP, 2013 SCC 39, [2013] 2 S.C.R. 649, at para. 23). The Court has recognized that aspects of these fiduciary and ethical duties … Read More
Spousal Sponsorship Application Processing Times Soaring under Conservatives
On March 1, 2015, both the Ottawa Sun and the CBC reported that protesters demonstrated in front of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) building on Laurier Avenue in Ottawa. As the CBC reported: Canadians who fall in love with someone of another nationality can face daunting obstacles to starting a life together in Canada. If their spouse is living here already, they face a 25-month waiting period for their application to be processed. That waiting period has grown longer over the past two years, leaving thousands of families in limbo. It is not only spouses in Canada whose applications are experiencing processing delays.
The Increasing Burden on Canadian Businesses
The following article appeared in the March 2015 edition of The Canadian Immigrant. — Canada’s government views itself as being a government that has reduced administrative burdens for Canadian businesses. Indeed, the House of Commons recently passed legislation that states that every new regulation that imposes a new administrative burden on Canadian business must result in an existing regulation being amended or repealed. Under its Red Tape Reduction Action Plan, the Canadian government has announced that it is committed to streamlining the regulatory approval processes and reducing reporting requirements and information demands. Canadian employers of foreign nationals and prospective immigrants can be forgiven for viewing these proclamations and pronouncements with skepticism. Administrative burden of the LMIA regime Since 2013, the now-called Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has made the labour market impact assessment (LMIA) regime excessively administratively cumbersome. ESDC has increased the LMIA application fee from $0 to $275 to $1,000. It has introduced exceedingly more stringent recruitment requirements on employers wishing to obtain LMIAs to permanently retain their foreign workers and help them transition to permanent residency. For reasons that I still don’t understand, ESDC has decided to not publicize some of its recruitment requirements, a decision which … Read More
The APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Business Travel Card (ABTC)
In June 2014, the Government of Canada announced that Canadians could now participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (“APEC“) Business Travel Card (“ABTC“) program. I applied for and quickly obtained one. Indeed, when I went for my interview I was told by the United States Customs and Border Patrol officer that I was one of the first people to be interviewed. From what I can tell it appears that very few Canadians have applied for the ABTC. Indeed, when I mention the very existence of the ABTC most people appear unaware that it even exists. This is unfortunate. If you’re a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and you’ve ever sat in frustration at the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver waiting for your visa that will only be valid for a few months, or stood in line gaping at the size of the crowds at the ShenZhen-Hong Kong border crossing, then the ABTC is for you.
Increased Fees and Compliance in the International Mobility Program
On February 11, 2015, the Government of Canada publicized amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations that affected most applicants in the International Mobility Program (the “IMP“). The IMP includes all streams of work permit applications that are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA“) process, including workers covered by free trade agreements, people participating in exchange programs like International Experience Canada (“IEC“), provincial nominees, intra-company transferees, post-graduate work permit holders, etc. In reviewing the changes described below, it is important to understand the distinction between a closed work permit and an open work permit. A closed work permit limits a foreign worker to a particular employer. An open work permit allows the foreign worker to work for any employer. The changes consist of: Requiring that employers of prospective closed work permit holders in the IMP provide information to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) before their prospective employees apply for work permits; Requiring that employers of prospective closed work permit holders pay a $230.00 “employer compliance fee” per employee before their prospective employees apply for work permits; and Introducing a new $100.00 “privilege fee” on open work permit applicants. The Government of Canada has announced that the above changes … Read More
Citizenship and Immigration Canada Abandons International Students
The following article appeared in the December 2014 edition of The Canadian Immigrant magazine. Are options for international students to immigrate permanently narrowing? Each year, around 100,000 international students arrive in Canada to commence their studies. From 2005 to 2013, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) introduced many programs to make it easier for these students to obtain work experience in Canada after graduating and to transition to permanent resident status. My May 2013 column for Canadian Immigrantdetailed the ways in which post-graduate work permit (PGWP) holders could stay in Canada beyond the expiry of their PGWPs. In that article I wrote “some graduates regretfully lose their employment (and consequently jeopardize their permanent residence applications) if the employers are unable or unwilling to pay the required prevailing wage rates required for LMOs [labour market opinions], or if Service Canada refuses the applications because of insufficient recruitment on the employer’s part. There is no reason for this to be happening.” Unfortunately for international students, that “there is no reason for this to be happening” is no longer the case, and the road for recent graduates to obtain permanent residency is becoming increasing difficult.