On July 15, 2013, Prime Minister Stephen Harper shuffled his cabinet. From an immigration perspective, the important changes are: Steven Blaney replaces a retiring Vic Toews as the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Chris Alexander replaces Jason Kenney as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Jason Kenney replaces Diane Finley as the Minister of Employment and Social Development (formerly Human Resources and Skills Development Canada). The Ministry of Employment and Social Development is a huge ministry, responsible for developing, managing, and delivering social programs and services. In addition to overseeing the Labour Market Opinion aspect of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, Minister Kenney will also be responsible for Employment Insurance, the Canada Student Loans, the Canada Pension Plan, Old Age Security, the national Homelessness Initiative, and more. He will be managing the delivery of over $87-billion in programs and services, and will oversee approximately 24,000 employees. In hindsight, Jason Kenney’s appointment to be Minister of Employment and Social Development is not that surprising. On April 29, 2013, he gave a press conference regarding changes to the Labour Market Opinion program. More recently, he gave Service Canada the power to issue what are in effect Ministerial Instructions, and he recently introduced regulatory amendments providing the … Read More
Partial Returns of Money under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act
The Government of Canada through the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, SC 2000, c 17 (the “PCMLTFA“), has enacted measures to increase the detection of money associated to the proceeds of crime at Ports of Entry. Part 2 of the PCMLTFA imposes on obligation on every person to report the importation or exportation of currency or monetary instruments of an equal value to or greater than the prescribed threshold of CAD $10,000. While there is no limitation on the total amount of currency or monetary instruments that may be brought into or taken out of Canada, every person has to report any amount exceeding $10,000. The Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) may then question person regarding the possession of the currency. Levels of Seizure and Penalty CBSA officers who believe on reasonable grounds that the reporting requirement of the PCMLTFA has been violated may seize as forfeit currency or monetary instruments, and impose the prescribed penalty as terms of release. The Customs Enforcement Manual provides that the following terms of release are to be offered: Level 1 – $250 Where a person has not concealed the currency or monetary instruments; Where a person has made … Read More
Agraria
Agraria v. Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2013 SCC 36 This is a Supreme Court of Canada decision so there is much to take from it, and I will barely be able to begin to scratch the surface in this post. Mr. Agraria submitted an IRPA s. 34(2) application for ministerial relief in 2002. The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness refused this application in 2009, concluding that it was not in the national interest to admit individuals to Canada who had had sustained contact with known terrorists and/or terrorist-connected organizations. Mr. Agraria’s role in the organization was apparently to engage people in political discourse, deliver envelops, and raise funds. The Canada Border Services Agency actually recommended to then Minister that he admit Mr. Agraria, as, in their words: He appears to have been a regular member who did not occupy a position of trust or authority within the LNSF. He does not appear to have been totally committed to the LNSF specifically as he indicated to the immigration officer at CIC Oshawa that he would support anyone who tried to rmeove the current regime in Libya through non-violent means. The Minister overruled his Department, and determined that … Read More
RIMbits Revealed (June 2010)
The following are some excerpts from the June 2010 RIMbits. RIMbits are messages sent from National Headquarters to missions overseas. The June 2010 RIMbits on admissibility consisted of six questions and answers. I have reproduced two of them for free below. Please note that the questions and answers below should not be viewed as legal advice. Rather, they are simply reproductions of how CIC senior management answered specific questions from visa offices in May 2010. Appeals Allowed and Resumption of Examination Q. Our FC1 case went to appeal at the IAD and was allowed. The decision states that the Panel is disgusted with the behaviour of the appellant and the applicant and that their behaviour cries out for further investigation, but it is not within the mandate of this panel to carry out such an exercise. In light of this written comment in the decision, we would like to know if we can re examine and refuse the application as a marriage of convenience. We originally refused under A40(1)(a). A. When the application for admission of a member of the family class is refused, the sponsor may appeal to the IAD on either legal or humanitarian grounds. Since the refusal … Read More
Enforcing Removal Orders and Authorization to Return to Canada: Scenarios, Questions, and Answers
One of the more common questions that I am asked is when people who have been told by the Government of Canada to leave Canada need to submit an Application for Authorization to Return to Canada (“ARC”) before they return. I have obtained a copy of internal Citizenship and Immigration Canada material which addresses some of these questions, and which I have adapted and produced below. Please note that the material below has been adapted from a document dated 2009-10. It is from an official work by the Government of Canada which was obtained through Access to Information and Privacy Act Request. I have reviewed it and believe that it is correct and current. However, the scenarios below should only be used for informational purposes. It is NOT legal advice. As well, the reproduction of the training materials has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Scenario 1 Tiger Johnson, a citizen of the USA,was issued a Departure Order on August 4, 2008. When he left Canada, he did not confirm his departure with the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”). In 2012, he shows up at the Canadian … Read More
Operational Bulletin 315 (Internal) – Cancellation of Visas in Crisis Situations
Not all Citizenship and Immigration Canada Operational Bulletins are public. Our firm has a small collection of internal bulletins. I have published one below which provided guidance to officers on how to cancel visas. The bulletin appears to have been motivated by the Arab Spring.
Forget China, the Future of Immigration to Canada Appears to be the Philippines
When I tell people that I specialize in immigration law many people automatically assume that all of my clients must be Chinese. This is because during the latter quarter of the twentieth century, and for most of the first decade of the twenty-first, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) was the number one source country of immigrants to Canada. However, as I first noted two years ago, this is changing. The Philippines has emerged as the dominant source country for immigrants to Canada. I have witnessed this in my practice, and my anecdotal observations have been confirmed by recent Citizenship and Immigration Canada data. The trend is clear: the future of immigration to Canada belongs to the Philippines. History The Filipino community does not have as long a tradition in Canada as does the Chinese and Indian populations. Indeed, the first Filipino immigrants did not arrive in Canada until 1945. Between 1946 and 1964, only 100 Filipinos immigrated to Canada. However, in 1981, Canada introduced its first foreign domestic-worker program. These caregivers could eventually apply for permanent residency and citizenship. In 1992, this program was renamed the Live-In Caregiver Program. Since its inception, the Live-in Caregiver Program has been predominantly … Read More
CIC Coin Toss Decision Provides Useful Precedent for Aspiring Contract Drafters
On March 7, 2013, the National Post reported that Citizenship and Immigration Canada decided “two identical bids” for a government contract by coin toss. I was quite surprised when I read this, and have since obtained a copy of the contract which was used to create a legally enforceable coin toss. When I was in law school friends jokingly asked me if I would create contracts for hiking agreements and calling “shotgun!” No one ever asked me to draft a coin toss contract, but it is useful to know that there is a precedent if I am ever asked to do so. 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. I have also obtained copies of the coin toss contracts which show the names of individuals and companies involved with the coin toss, but have decided not to publish them. The reproduction of this document has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada.
ATIP Results for CAPIC Presentation
I will be presenting in Vancouver tonight at the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants annual general meeting on the recently changed Federal Skilled Worker Class and the Canadian Experience Class. This follows up on a presentation I made on the same topic at the Canadian Bar Association annual immigration conference in Montreal. As part of my presentation, I have made available the following ATIP result publicly available. This ATIP contains training manuals and internal procedures used at Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Centralized Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia. It can be viewed by clicking the link below. ATIP CIO TRAINING MANUALS – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/compressed.PDF I have also reposted the following copies of ATIP results which I made available for the Canadian Bar Association conference in Montreal. ATIP 1 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP1.PDF Contains: An e-mail discussion on substituted evaluation; Several e-mail discussions regarding issues with the PhD program; Processing delays with the CEC; Issues with the 2D barcode and GCMS; Addressing problems with Indian Birth Certificates; and more. ATIP 2 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP2.PDF Contains: An e-mail discussion on working overtime to process capped applications; Clarifying the use of Academic IELTS; E-mails on processing reconsideration requests; and Several OBs (most already public, and some not). ATIP 3 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP3.PDF Contains: GCMS … Read More
ATIP Results for CBA Presentation
I will be presenting in Montreal tomorrow at the Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Law Section’s annual law conference on the recently changed Federal Skilled Worker Class and the Canadian Experience Class. As part of my presentation, I have made the following copies of ATIP results below publicly available for download: ATIP 1 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP1.PDF Contains: An e-mail discussion on substituted evaluation; Several e-mail discussions regarding issues with the PhD program; Processing delays with the CEC; Issues with the 2D barcode and GCMS; Addressing problems with Indian Birth Certificates; and more. ATIP 2 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP2.PDF Contains: An e-mail discussion on working overtime to process capped applications; Clarifying the use of Academic IELTS; E-mails on processing reconsideration requests; and Several OBs (most already public, and some not). ATIP 3 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP3.PDF Contains: GCMS Shortcuts and Tips; Case Studies on Removal Orders and ARC; Cheat Sheet on Calculating the Start of the 5 Year Period for Rehab; Training guides for misrepresentation; Assessing medical specializations and professional degrees; Assessing Skilled Workers (Islamabad Caseload); Exercises on assessing Ministerial Instructions; Federal Skilled Worker Cheat Sheet; C-50 Summary; Australian Police Certificates; Criminality in the UK, equivalency sheets, and a whole lotta rehab stuff; War Crimes (including a chart of … Read More