As published in the May Canadian Immigrant magazine: In November 2011, the Auditor General of Canada Michael Ferguson released a report criticizing the Canadian government for having what he essentially described as a completely inadequate screening process for detecting people who pose a security risk to Canadians. As one might expect, this did not go over too well with a Conservative government that spent much of the autumn session pushing a public safety agenda. It responded to the auditor general’s report by promising to comply with his recommendations, and stating that it had already begun to make significant investments to improve security screening. Previously, people with criminal convictions occasionally entered Canada undetected. Border officials would also often let them into Canada on a short-term basis without requiring much paperwork. Now, both of these scenarios are likely to become less common. It is, therefore, important that people who have been convicted of a criminal offence determine in advance whether they will likely be prohibited from entering Canada. Will you be inadmissible to Canada? If a conviction exists, then it is necessary to determine whether the conviction’s equivalent offence in Canada would be a summary, hybrid or indictable offence under an act of … Read More
Restructuring the North American Processing Network
Restructuring of North American Processing Network On May 29, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) restructured its North American Processing Network. The restructuring included the closure of immigration section of the Canadian consualte in Buffalo, as well as the realigninment of the immigration functions of the Canadian consulates in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Detroit, and Seattle (the “US Consulates”). Concurrently, CIC has introduced changes that will allow applicants who currently have a Work Permit or a Study Permit to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa (commonly referred to a a “visitor visa”) within Canada. Closure of the Buffalo Consulate CIC has announced that it will be closing the visa section of the Buffalo Consulate. Applications that are currently being processed in Buffalo (including Federal Skilled Worker, Quebec Skilled Worker, Provincial Nominee Program , and Federal Investor applications) are being transferred to the Case Processing Pilot Office – Ottawa (“CPP-O”). Re-Configuring the U.S. Network Effectively immediately, the Seattle, Detroit, and Washington D.C. consulates will no longer be processing new Work Permit or Study Permit applications. Only the Los Angeles and New York consulates will process new Work Permit and Study Permit applications. Furthermore, applicants residing in the United States … Read More
Class Action Lawsuit Launched Over the Termination of 300,000 Skilled Worker Applications
Waldman & Associates and Larlee Rosenberg have launched a class action lawsuit against the Government of Canada’s proposed legislation terminated all Federal Skilled Worker Program applications made prior to February 27, 2008 that are still being processed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Numerous media outlets have reported on both the devastating impact the change has had on individuals, as well as the class action lawsuit, including: Lawyers Challenge Ottawa’s Move to Erase Immigration Backlog Would be Immigrants Take Ottawa to Court Over Cancelled Applications Immigration Changes Leave Chinese Woman’s Dreams Dashed Our press release states: If you applied to immigrate to Canada through the Federal Skilled Worker Program and have had your application terminated please contact us.
Canada Closes Tokyo Immigration Services
The Canadian embassy in Tokyo will no longer be processing immigration applications. All applications which would have previously been sent to Tokyo must now be sent to Manila. Considering the difference in processing times as shown below, I am sure many potential Japanese visa applicants are probably saying しまった. Type of Application Tokyo Processing Time Manila Processing Time Study Permits 3 13 Work Permits 1 15 Skilled Workers (2008-10) 17 18 Provincial Nominees 5 11 Investors 27 55 Spousal-Sponsorship 6 9
Accelerated Labour Market Opinions
On April 25, 2012, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (“Service Canada”) launched two initiatives that will significantly change the process by which Canadian employers interested in hiring foreign workers apply for Labour Market Opinions (“LMO”). These are the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion Initiative (“A-LMO”) and the introduction of online applications. The A-LMO The purpose of the A-LMO is to reduce LMO processing times. Service Canada has indicated that their objective is that A-LMO applications will be processed in 10 business days, a significant reduction from the current average LMO processing time of 2-4 months. In addition to reduced processing times, the A-LMO will also feature: A reduction in the amount of documentation that employers have to submit to Service Canada when they apply for their A-LMO. Significantly, employers will no longer have to submit proof of recruitment. Flexibility on the prevailing wage. A wage of up to 15% less than the prevailing wage for an occupation will be accepted provided that the employer pays similar wages to Canadians and permanent residents employed in the same occupation. A waiver of the mandatory in-depth interview. Eligibility To be eligible to participate in the A-LMO, an employer must: Have been issued at … Read More
Ministerial Instructions will be Jason Kenney’s Greatest Legacy
There are numerous significant changes to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”) buried inside the 2012 Budget Implementation Act (the “BIA”). The first change, the termination of approximately 300,000 Federal Skilled Worker Applications, was expected. The other, the expansion of the role of Ministerial Instructions, was not. Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (the “Minister”), has made several significant changes toCanada’s immigration system. Many of these are substantive (who is eligible to immigrate), and will likely be changed by future ministers and governments. His involvement in the creation and expansion of the use of Ministerial Instructions, a procedural change, however, may be his most enduring legacy. In 2008, amendments to IRPA provided that the Minister could issue instructions to immigration officers (“Ministerial Instructions”) regarding which applications were eligible for processing. This overturned the government’s long standing obligation to process all eligible applications in the order in which they were received. The Minister was further empowered to issue Ministerial Instructions to limit the number of applications processed, accelerate some applications or groups of applications, and return applications without processing them to a final decision. It was through Ministerial Instructions that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) reduced and … Read More
Changes to Language Requirements
New Language Requirements for Citizenship and PNP Applications Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) has introduced new language requirements for citizenship applications and certain provincial nominee applications. For citizenship applications, the changes will introduce objective language requirements for most applicantions. For certain provincial nominee program (“PNP”) applications, the changes will introduce mandatory language testing. The Citizenship Langugage Requirements Applicants for Canadian citizenship are required to demonstrate that they have an adequate knowledge of either English or French. Currently, this is done through a multiple choice written test known as the Citizenship Exam, which also tests knowledge of Canada and the responsibilities of citizenship. On April 21, 2012, the Government of Canada introduced regulatory changes that when they take affect will require that citizenship applicants enclose proof that they meet the language requirement with their citizenship application. Acceptable means of proof will include: A language test result from an authorized testing agency; Evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French; or Evidence of completion and achievement of a certain level in a government-funded language training program. Applicants submitting test results from an authorized testing agency will have to achieve a minimum standard of Canadian Language Benchmark (“CLB”) … Read More
Skilled Worker Non-Processing Letters Going Out
And so it begins. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has begun sending letters to Federal Skilled Worker Applicants who applied prior to February 27, 2008, that their applications will not be processed, and that they will soon be contacted regarding a refund. Regardless of what one thinks of the merits of cancelling the backlog (I am sympathetic to both sides’ arguments), the way in which the Government of Canada is executing its decision to cancel the applications is problematic. Indeed, I believe that the government is acting in a way that will lead to court intervention. In brief, the government is cancelling these applications without having yet passed any legislative changes permitting them to do. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations still state that the affected applicants are eligible to immigrate to Canada. From what I can tell, the Minister is currently governing through press release. Ironically, the press release notes that the cancellation and refund of the above applications will occur as a result of “proposed legislation”. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-03-30a.asp The proposed legislation has not yet been introduced either in the House of Commons or in the Canada Gazette. Despite that, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is already cancelling applications. … Read More
SCC Replaces the Oakes Test with the Reasonableness Standard
Over the last several years, the Supreme Court of Canada has released numerous administrative law decisions where it found that the reasonableness standard of review should replace other standards. On March 22nd 2012, in Dore v. Burraeu du Quebec, 2012 SCC 12, the Court extended this trend to proclaiming that the reasonableness standard should replace the Oakes test when determining whether an administrative tribunal’s action which limited a right under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms could nonetheless withstand s. 1 analysis. Section 1 analysis refers to the judicial process of determining whether a government’s breach (or limitation) of a Charter right is nonetheless constitutional pursuant to s. 1 of the Charter, which states that: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. In 1985, the Supreme Court of Canada created the Oakes test for determining whether a Charter breach is reasonable and justifiable in a free and democratic society. The Oakes test first involves determining whether the government’s limitation of a Charter right is the result of a pressing and substantial objective. If it … Read More
Quebec Caps Economic Immigration
Quebec Caps Economic Immigration On March 21, 2012, the Government of Quebec announced that it is capping the maximum number of applications that it will receive in its economic programs. The programs that will be subject to a cap are the Quebec Investor Program, the Quebec Entrepreneur Program, the Quebec Self-Employed Worker Program, and the Quebec Skilled Worker Program . The introduction of the caps follows a dramatic increase in applications to these programs following the implementation of caps to corresponding federal programs. The caps will last from March 21, 2012 to March 31, 2013. During this time, the maximum number of applicants that can apply to immigrate to Quebec in the business stream are: Investors – 2700 Entrepreneurs and Self-Employed Workers – 215 Meanwhile, for the purpose of determining the cap, the Quebec Skilled Worker Program has been divided into three groups. There will be no limit on the number of people who can apply to the Quebec Skilled Worker Program – Group 1. To be eligible for Group 1, an applicant must be (please note that most of the following requirements contain specific additional provisions that are beyond the scope of this bulletin): A temporary foreign worker in … Read More