Many people are curious as to what information various police and government departments share with the Canada Border Services Agency. Embedded below are the following documents: Memorandum of Understanding Between the Abbotsford Police Department and the Canada Border Services Agency Pacific Region Enforcement Centre Letter of Agreement for Immigration Detentions between the Canada Border Services Agency and BC Corrections Memorandum of Understanding between the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service and the Canada Border Services Agency Pacific Region Enforcement Centre, including letter from Neil Dubord, Chief Officer, Transit Police dated 26 February 2015 terminating the MOU Memorandum of Understanding Between the Royal Canadian Mountain Police “E” Division and the Canada Border Services Agency Pacific Region Enforcement Centre Memorandum of Understanding Between the Vancouver Police Department and the Canada Border Services Agency Pacific Region Enforcement Centre
The 2016 Liberal Immigration Numbers
On March 8, 2016, John McCallum, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) tabled the 2015 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration (the “2015 IRCC Report”) It states that in 2016 Canada will welcome between 280,000 and 305,000 immigrants, with a target of 300,000. While this target if fulfilled would be Canada’s highest annual immigration number in over a century, not all immigration categories are being increased. The 2015 IRCC Report reveals that 2016 will be a good year for the spouses and common-law partners of Canadians. It also suggests that it will be a frustrating one for economic migrants, especially international graduates seeking to transition to permanent residency. Before proceeding, it is important to note that while IRCC in the 2015 IRCC Report released a detailed breakdown of immigration statistics to Canada in 2014, it did not publish data for 2015. As such, as of writing it is only possible to compare what the Liberal Government of Canada (the “Liberals”) is planning in 2016 with what the previous Conservative Government of Canada (the “Conservatives”) achieved in 2014, and what it planned in 2015. Economic Immigration Programs In 2016, Canada will accept between 54,000 to 58,400 immigrants in … Read More
Bill C-6 – How the Liberals are Changing Canadian Citizenship Law
On February 25, 2016, the Liberal Government of Canada introduced Bill C-6, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act (“Bill C-6”). Bill C-6 was highly anticipated as during the 2015 election campaign the Liberal Party of Canada (the “Liberals”) made repealing portions of the then Conservative Government of Canada’s Bill C-24, The Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, one of the key pillars of their election platform. Specifically, the Liberals promised to repeal the provisions of Bill C-24 that provided the Canadian government the ability to revoke the citizenship of certain citizens for national security concerns, to re-allow international students to count as half-days the time that they spent in Canada studying towards the residency requirement to apply for citizenship, and to eliminate the requirement that new Canadian citizens declare that they intend to reside in Canada. The overall theme that the Liberals stressed during the campaign was that they would make it easier for “hard-working” immigrants to become Canadian citizens. Bill C-6 goes beyond the Liberals’ specific promises listed above while remaining true to their campaign theme. Bill C-6 amends many additional aspects of Canada’s Citizenship Act, including reducing the time that it … Read More
LMIA Exemption for the Performing Arts Sector
On February 3, 2016, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”, previously “CIC”) introduced new Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA“) exemptions, and expanded the Business Visitors category for certain foreign nationals so that they may work in Canada without a work permit. The specific changes are: the introduction of a LMIA exemption for prospective foreign workers whose work is essential to a television or film production and would create and maintain significant economic benefits and opportunities to Canadians and permanent residents; the introduction of a LMIA exemption to prospective foreign workers working in dance, opera, orchestra and live theatre whose work contributes to competitive advantages and reciprocal benefits for all Canadians, including Canadian performing artists and performing arts organizations; and that foreign nationals who are employed as film producers, essential personnel for commercial (i.e,, advertising) shoots, and film and recording studio users may now be considered as Business Visitors. The LMIA exemptions described above take affect on February 17, 2016. The expansion to the Business Visitor category is effective immediately. Significant Benefit Guidelines As noted above, starting on February 17, 2016, an LMIA exemption will exist for prospective foreign workers whose work is essential to a television or film production … Read More
Abolish PR Cards and Implement a Residency Obligation Amnesty
Permanent residents of Canada are currently required to possess a Permanent Resident Card, commonly referred to as a “PR Card,” in order to board commercial transport to Canada. Processing times for new PR Cards currently exceed 100 days, and the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) Twitter account recently advised permanent residents seeking to renew their PR Cards to apply 9 months in advance of travel in order to avoid trip disruptions. Permanent residents are often left stranded abroad, or find themselves stuck in Canada unable to travel internationally, for months. The situation is untenable, and it is time for the Government of Canada to eliminate PR Cards, let permanent residents travel to Canada using the new Electronic Travel Authorization system, and implement a “residency obligation amnesty” until the government develops a better system to track entries and exits to and from Canada. This will focus on the impact of PR Card processing delays to those travelling by air to Canada, as this is where the issue is most pronounced. However, it is important to note that the PR Card requirement applies to all commercial transport to Canada, including air, boat, rail, and bus. The Residency Obligation When someone immigrates … Read More
The BC PNP Skills Immigration Programs in 2016
On January 27, 2016, the British Columbia Provincial Nomination Program (“BC PNP“) re-opened its Skills Immigration and Express Entry BC programs, and introduced the Skills Immigration Registration System. The Skills Immigration Registration System is an expression of interest system to manage BC PNP Skills Immigration application intake. It is similar to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (“IRCC”, previously “CIC”) Express Entry system, as only registrants who are invited by the BC PNP to submit full nomination applications can actually apply for nomination certificates. Simply meeting program requirements does not guarantee an Invitation to Apply for nomination. The BC PNP determined that an application intake management system would be necessary in 2016 as the BC PNP had to frequently suspend intake to its programs in 2015. On March 31, 2015, the BC PNP announced a 90-day pause on intake to its Skills Immigration programs. On July 2, 2015, the BC PNP re-opened its Skills Immigration program to limited intake, and the programs were full within 36 hours. On September 1, 2015, the BC PNP suspended intake to its Express Entry BC programs, and, with the limited exception of a 50 spot opening in November, the BC PNP has not accepted applications to … Read More
Judges, Referees, and Work Permits
Does a rodeo announcer require a work permit and a Labour Market Impact Assessment to give background information on radio contestants during a rodeo? The answer is.. it depends. Section 186(m) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR“) provides that: Work Without a Work Permit 186. A foreign national may work in Canada without a work permit (m) as a judge, referee or similar official at an international amateur sports competition, an international cultural or artistic event or competition or an animal or agricultural competition; Amateur Sports Competitions and Events The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) website states that for judges, referees and similar officials involved in an international amateur sports competition, the event should be organized by an international amateur sporting association and should be hosted by a Canadian organization. The distinction between “organizing” and “hosting” becomes important, and supporting documents needs to reflect this. The CIC website further states that events may include international or university games, winter or summer Olympics, etc., and that an “amateur” sports competition is generally defined as one in which the participating athletes are not paid to compete or otherwise participate in the event. The CIC website notes that there are exceptions to this, as of … Read More
Refugee Claimants and Fake Documents
A challenge that arises in many refugee claims where a claimant has used fraudulent documents to travel to Canada is the balancing of the need to determine a claimant’s identity with jurisprudence that cautions against drawing negative credibility findings from the use of false documents where refugee claimants have little choice but to to use false documents to leave their country. In Gulamsakhi v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 105, for example, the Federal Court stated that: … this Court has repeatedly cautioned against drawing negative conclusions based on the use of smugglers and forged documents to escape violence and persecution. Travelling on false documents or destroying travel documents is of very limited value as a determination of the claimant’s credibility. This is partly because it is not uncommon for a person fleeing persecution to follow the instructions of the person(s) organizing their escape. Another, and perhaps the most frequently cited case on this principle, is Rasheed v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2004 FC 587, where the Federal Court stated that: Where a claimant travels on false documents, destroys travel documents or lies about them upon arrival following an agent’s instructions, it has been held to be … Read More
Performing Artists and Work Permits
I was recently asked whether an opera singer working in Canada for three months requires a work permit and a Labour Market Impact Assessment. The answer is.. it depends. Section 186(g) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR“) provides that: Work Without a Work Permit 186. A foreign national may work in Canada without a work permit (g) as a performing artist appearing alone or in a group in an artistic performance — other than a performance that is primarily for a film production or a television or radio broadcast — or as a member of the staff of such a performing artist or group who is integral to the artistic performance, if (i) they are part of a foreign production or group, or are a guest artist in a Canadian production or group, performing a time-limited engagement, and (ii) they are not in an employment relationship with the organization or business in Canada that is contracting for their services. No Work Permit Required Examples of performing artists who do not need a work permit to work in Canada include: Foreign-based musical and theatrical individuals and groups and their essential crew; street performers (buskers), DJs; busking; a foreign or traveling … Read More
Environmental Overview – Rome
The following is a summary of the Environmental Overview of the immigration functions at the Canadian Embassy in Rome (the “Environmental Overview”). The Environmental Overview was prepared as part of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2015-2016 planning exercise. Environment The Canadian Embassy in Rome (“CIC Rome”) provides visa services to residents of Albania, Greece, Italy, Malta, San Marino, and the State of the Holy See. Economic turbulence in Greece resulted in an increased interest in Canada from Greek nationals. The economic crisis in Greece and Malta, as well as, the political and economic crisis in Italy continue to affect our programs. We continue to receive an increasing number of inquiries related to both our TR and PR programs. We receive approximately 2000 emails per month from persons inquiring about our programs. Our VACs indicate that they too have not only seen an increase in the number of walk-in inquiries on TR programs but also on PR programs. Clients are all referred to the CIC website. Modernization Since arriving this summer, new IPM has made several changes to better leverage GCMS and improve processing times across all lines of business. Backlogs and long processing times have been eliminated and Rome is back to well within all CIC published processing standards. … Read More