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
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
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
Impacts of Budget 2013 on Immigration
The Government of Canada has released its budget for 2013 (“Budget 2013″). Budget 2013 contains several announcements of changes to immigration programs which the Government of Canada will introduce this year, including (my editorial comments in maroon): Providing $42-million in funding to support enhanced program capacity within the Temporary Resident program, and giving the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (the “Minister“) the ability to set fees in a timely and efficient manner. (Budget 2013 actually refers to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada as the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. I’m not sure if this means that the Department is about to change its name or if it is a typo.) Providing $44-million in funding over two years to improve the processing of Citizenship applications, and allowing the Minister to set fees in a timely and efficient manner. (This is fantastic. Processing times have ballooned to more than four years in many cases.) Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to restrict the identification of non-official languages as job requirements when hiring through the Temporary Foreign Worker process. (Not sure about this.. in a global economy some positions require fluency in languages other than English or French.) Introduce processing fees for Labour Market … Read More
Understanding the Three Levels of Customs Infractions
When a person has goods (as distinguished from monetary instruments and conveyances seized at customs, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) has established three “levels” or “degrees” of breach for the purpose of determining the penalty. These levels are described in Part 5 Chapter 2 of the Customs Enforcement Manual. Level 1 Level 1 applies to violations of lesser culpability. It will be applied where a person’s efforts to hide something from CBSA were initial and effectual. It is generally applied to offences of omission rather than commission. In the context of Non-Report and Inaccurate Information, Level 1 will be applied when: goods are not reported to CBSA or goods are reported to CBSA but inaccurate information is given concerning acquisition, entitlements, or description; the goods are not concealed; and a full disclosure of the true facts concerning the goods is made at the time of discovery. In the context of Undervaluation, Level 1 is applied when: goods are reported for a value less than their actual transaction value but no falsified documents were presented; and full disclosure is made prior to the discovery of documentary evidence. Level 2 Level 2 applies to violations where the circumstances demonstrate that the individual actively attempted to … Read More
New 2013 Federal Skilled Worker Class (Updated – April 18, 2013)
(On August 17, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) announced that it would be overhauling Canada’s Federal Skilled Worker Class (“FSWC”). Numerous program announcements have been introduced since then. Each time we have revised and updated this blog post. The most recent update was on April 18, 2013.) In brief, the FSWC will now focus on youth and language fluency. It will also require foreigners to have their educational credentials assessed by designated agencies. The Arranged Employment Opinion process is being abolished. The program will continue to feature limits on the number of occupations which can apply, and there will be caps. The revised program will begin accepting applications on May 4, 2013. Eligible Occupations List For those not applying under the Arranged Employment stream or the PhD Stream, applicants must have at least one year of continuous work experience in one of 24 occupations (the “Eligible Occupations Stream”). The Eligible Occupations are: 0211 Engineering managers 1112 Financial and investment analysts 2113 Geoscientists and oceanographers 2131 Civil engineers 2132 Mechanical engineers 2134 Chemical engineers 2143 Mining engineers 2144 Geological engineers 2145 Petroleum engineers 2146 Aerospace engineers 2147 Computer engineers (except software engineers/designers) 2154 Land surveyors 2174 Computer programmers and interactive media … Read More