The Federal Court in Carran v. Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) has certified the following question of general importance: During a stay of removal order, does subsection 68(4) of the IRPA only apply to convictions for subsection 36(1) offences committed after the beginning of the stay? The case involved a permanent resident who had several criminal convictions. On May 13, 2008, a Minister’s delegate referred the permanent resident to an admissibility hearing. The delegate noted that the individual had 14 convictions, as well as an outstanding criminal charge. On April 23, 2009, the permanent resident and the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) made a joint recommendation to the Immigration Appeal Division (the “IAD“) to stay the deportation of the individual for a period of 24 months. The IAD accepted the joint recommendation, and stayed the deportation. On December 2, 2010, the permanent resident pled guilty to the outstanding charge, and received a sentence of one day incarceration, and 18 months probation. The CBSA upon discovering this conviction made an application to cancel the stay of removal, and deport the permanent resident. The IAD canceled the stay, citing section 68(4) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the “Act”), which states that: If … Read More
Presenting The Customs Enforcement Manual
The Canada Border Services Agency is responsible for the detection and prevention of border-related offences such as smuggling, fraud, and wilful non-compliance with immigration, trade, and tax law. The CBSA Enforcement Manual, also known as the Customs Enforcement Manual, serves as the guide for CBSA officers in the execution of their enforcement related responsibilities. It has been relied upon in several court challenges. To the best of my knowledge, the CBSA Enforcement Manual is not publicly available. However, we have obtained a copy of it through an Access to Information and Privacy Act request and have made it available for purchase on this blog. The price for this document, which is a massive 1,274 pages, is $4.95. Our goal in providing the CBSA Enforcement Manual is to help you save valuable research time, and to provide you with a comprehensive understanding of how the CBSA operates. We have provided as a free preview the first page of the CBSA Enforcement Manual. We have also provided an outline of all of the information, policies, and guides which are found in it. The Customs Enforcement Manual is divided into parts as outlined below.
Immigration Related Resolutions at the 2013 NDP Convention
In 2011 I wrote about a resolution at the Conservative Party Convention to strip the citizenship of people who take up arms against Canadian soldiers or other types of treason. Fast forward to 2013, and it seems like the government may adopt a similar policy. So with the New Democratic Party, the Official Opposition in Canada, about to have their Policy Convention in Montreal, I thought it would be prudent to state the resolutions of theirs directly related to immigration (as opposed to resolutions which would indirectly influence immigration by impacting Canada’s standard of living). 3-16-13 Resolution on Equal Access to Employment Insurance Benefits for Temporary Foreign Workers Submitted by UFCW Canada, UFCW Canada Local 1518, UFCW Canada Local 1000A WHEREAS An estimated 800,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada pay full premiums with employers into the Employment Insurance (EI) program but are not eligible for the primary benefit when laid off and return home due to residency regulations implemented by the federal government; and WHEREAS Temporary foreign workers were eligible for the secondary benefits under the EI program for Parental and Maternal benefit; and THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED That the NDP call on the Harper Government to repeal this regulation and restore access to these secondary … Read More
The Cost of Detaining “Illegal Immigrants”
When the Canada Border Services Agency began dramatically increasing enforcement operations, many wondered where the Department was going to detain individuals. The provinces, especially Ontario, has indicated for many years that they do not want to be in the “detention business.” The internal document below shows that at one point the Department went so far as to approach the Department of National Defence to host some immigration detainees, particularly in the case of mass arrivals and security certificate cases. Ultimately, as the document below also indicates, the Department of National Defence was not interested. Neither the provinces nor DND appear to be interested in using their facilities to detain “illegal immigrants.” Given this, I am always surprised when a few CBSA officers (certainly not all, or even most) decide to detain people as a matter of course, only to have them be released only a few days later by the Immigration Division. Please note that the document below was obtained through an Access to Information and Privacy Act Request, and to my knowledge is not otherwise publicly available. The reproduction of this document has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the … Read More
Temporary Foreign Workers to Canada by Year and Job
The debate over temporary foreign workers is back in the news. I have received a copy of the results of an Access to Information and Privacy Act request which shows the breakdown of admittance of foreign worker by year and occupation. (I am not publishing this document on my blog, however, if you want a copy feel free to e-mail me.) The table below shows the breakdown in 2005 (the last year that the Liberal Party of Canada was in government) and 2011 (the most recent year available). That I have chosen these years of course has limitations in terms of detecting trends (who knows if an occupation had an “on” or “off” year?). However, the data is nonetheless interesting, and shows an explosion in the number of people in certain occupations. Occupation 2005 2011 Percentage Change Legislator and Senior Management 1,205 2130 77% Administrative Service Managers 610 1005 65% Managers in Financial and Business Services 200 390 95% Managers in Communication (Except Broadcasting) 25 40 60% Managers in Engineering, Architecture, Science and Information Systems 610 1615 165% Managers in Health, Education, Social and Community Services 55 90 64% Managers in Public Administration 25 35 40% Managers in Art, Culture, Recreation, and … Read More
Which Members of Parliament are Getting the TRPs?
The media is reporting today that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) is unsure over whether individuals who received Temporary Resident Permits (“TRPs”) which were issued at the requests of Members of Parliament (“MPs”) ever left Canada. I have received a copy of the results of an Access to Information and Privacy Act request which shows the breakdown of TRPs issued by MP. (I am not publishing this document on my blog, however, if you want a copy feel free to e-mail me.) The table below shows which MPs, presumably through their respective constituency offices, successfully requested TRPs since around January 2009. I have included only current sitting MPs. That I have done so means that any conclusions reached about partisanship in the granting of TRPs would be based on incomplete information. The reason that I am posting this is that it does show that MP requests for TRPs are frequently granted, and that constituents should not feel shy about approaching their MPs. The list is: Member of Parliament Riding Party Number Bob Deschert Mississauga—Erindale Conservative 22 Wayne Martson Hamilton East—Stoney Creek NDP 12 John Baird Ottawa West – Nepean Conservative 10 Jason Kenney Calgary Southeast Conservative 8 Nina Grewal Fleetwood – Port … Read More
Wave Throughs at CBSA
Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) officers at land border crossings are faced with an impossible task. They have to interdict individuals who may be a public or health risk, process hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals and permanent residents who have assorted applications and immigration requirements which must be assessed, and collect taxes. CBSA Officers have to do all of this while somehow maintaining a balance between ensuring compliance with the law and ensuring that wait times at the border are not unnecessarily long. The failure to do either perfectly without disrupting the other will result in negative media scrutiny. Of all of CBSA’s roles, it is perhaps the enforcement of Canada’s customs laws that is the most difficult to manage. Memorandum R17-1-3, found in People Processing Manual Part 5: Accounting for Casual Importations: Chapter 11: Waiver Policy (the “People’ Processing Manual“), explains the conditions under which the CBSA may waive nominal assessments and accounting requirements on casual goods. In brief, casual goods imported by an individual may be released without assessment when the federal duties and GST/HST owing (as well as any provincial taxes, excluding PST) do not exceed a threshold of $3.00. The Manual contains the following useful example … Read More
Data Confirms Removals from British Columbia Up Since Conservatives Took Office
We have obtained through an Access to Information and Privacy Act request data showing the Canada Border Services Agency’s removal statistics for people in British Columbia from 2003 – 2012 (2012 is partial). I have reproduced below two pages of the data. We have also obtained a chart showing Removal Orders from British Columbia by Country of Birth by Year, which I have not published. If you wish to see it please contact me and I will send it to you by e-mail. As the chart below demonstrates, removals from British Columbia has increased under the Conservatives. Interestingly, it peaked in 2008 and 2009, before begin to decline. There is a lot of interesting information contained in the data below, including tables showing: Removal Orders by Type; Removal Orders by Refugee Claimant vs. Non Refugee Claimant; Removal Orders by Status in Canada; Removal Orders by Inadmissibility Ground; Removal Orders by Gender; and Removal Orders by Age. Please note that the Tables below are a copy of an official work by the Government of Canada which was obtained through an Access to Information and Privacy Act Request, and to my knowledge is not otherwise publicly available. While I believe that the data … Read More
Introducing the Start-Up Business Class
On March 28, 2013, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) revealed the details of the Start-Up Business Class, and announced that it will begin accepting applications on April 1, 2013. The Start-Up Business Class is a new federal economic immigration program, and joins the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Canadian Experience Class, the Provincial Nominee Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Class. The Start-Up Business Class will be open until March 31, 2018. Program Requirements A foreign national will be eligible to apply to the Start-Up Business Class if they meet all of the following requirements: The foreign national has obtained a commitment from a Designated Angel Investor Group of at least $75,000 in a “qualifying business” or two or more Designated Angel Investor Groups that together will be investing a total of at least $75,000 in a business. Alternatively, a foreign national will meet this first criteria if he/she obtains a commitment from a Designated Venture Capital Fund of at least $200,000 or two or more designated venture capital funds that together will be investing a total of at least $200,000 in the qualifying business. The foreign national has taken an English or French language test and obtained a minimum … Read More
Labour Market Opinions for Large Scale Franchisees
The document below is a Service Canada internal bulletin (the “Bulletin“). The Bulletin provides guidance to Service Canada officers regarding the processing of Labour Market Opinions from large scale franchisees seeking NOC C & D positions. It was written in 2009, and although much of the requirements contained within now apply to all employers, however, the Bulletin does provide useful information for applicants trying to fill any NOC C&D position. The Bulletin states that in addition to the normal LMO requirements for employers seeking to fill NOC C&D positions, the following requirements apply when the employer is a large scale franchisee: the advertisement must include the employers’ operating name; there must be evidence of ongoing recruitment made which include communities that face barriers to employment; employers must state the number of locations for which foreign workers are being sought; and the wage being paid. As well, employers should be prepared to provide the following information: the results of recruitment efforts (number of applicants, interviews conducted); the number of staff currently employed, as well as the hours of operations and positions occupied by existing staff; the benefits offered to existing staff; and staff turnover. Please note that the Bulletin is a copy of … Read More