The following is the Environmental Overview of the immigration functions at the Canadian High Commission in Colombo, Sri Lanka (the “Environmental Overview”). The Environmental Overview was prepared as part of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2015-2016 planning exercise.
The Canadian Visa Requirement for Mexican Citizens – A Policy which is No Longer Needed
During Canada’s 2015 federal election, the Liberal Party of Canada, led by Justin Trudeau, promised that if they were elected government that Canada would lift its visa requirement on Mexico. This campaign promise is reflected in now Prime Minister Trudeau’s mandate letter to John McCallum, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, which states that one of Minister McCallum’s top priorities will be to lift the visa requirement on Mexico. The decision by the previous Conservative Government of Canada in 2009 to implement a visa requirement for Mexican citizens was extremely controversial. It is difficult to determine whether it was a good public policy decision because of the numerous factors involved, each with corresponding benefits and costs. It is clear, however, that the implementation of the visa requirement did achieve the government’s primary objective, which was to dramatically reduce refugee claims from Mexican citizens in Canada. However, subsequent changes to Canada’s immigration refugee system, likely mean that the visa requirement is no longer necessary to achieve this objective. The Visa Requirement Canada imposed a visa requirement on Mexican citizens on July 14, 2009. The Canadian government stated that it did so to dramatically reduce the number of unfounded refugee claims … Read More
Supreme Court Issues Decision in Kanthasamy
On December 10, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its most significant immigration judgment in almost twenty years. Its decision in Kanthasamy v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) will likely result in visa officers assessing applications for Canadian permanent residence on humanitarian & compassionate grounds in a much more holistic and equitable manner than previously. H&C Applications People who would not normally be eligible to become permanent residents in Canada may apply to immigrate on humanitarian & compassionate (“H&C”) grounds. A typical H&C applicant is someone who does not meet the requirements of any of Canada’s economic or family reunification programs. As well, applicants who do qualify for more traditional immigration programs, but who are inadmissible to Canada, may also request (with narrow exceptions) that their inadmissibility be waived for H&C reasons. When visa officers review H&C applications, they analyze several factors, including the person’s establishment in Canada, their family ties to Canada, the best interests of any children involved, and what could happen to the applicants if their H&C applications are not granted. Prior to Kanthasamy, the criterion for an H&C application was whether applicants would suffer “unusual and undeserved or disproportionate hardship” if their applications were refused. Indeed, … Read More
Chris Alexander – The Good, The Bad, and the Barbaric
On November 4, 2015, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed John McCallum as the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship. He replaced Chris Alexander, who had been the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration since July 15, 2013. Mr. Alexander was one of 60 Conservative Party of Canada Members of Parliament who lost their seats in the October 19, 2015, federal election. Had the Canadian public on election night not replaced CPC with the Liberal Party of Canada as government, or had Chris Alexander at least even won his own seat, it would have perhaps been difficult to summarize Mr. Alexander’s tenure as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. However, at least one of the causes of the Conservative defeat was the Canadian public’s rejection of a party that increasingly encouraged what can only be described as intolerance and callousness. Both of these descriptions will likely be remembered as the defining features of Mr. Alexander’s term as Minister. It is difficult to write this because I do not know how much influence Chris Alexander actually had within his own department. It was often speculated by immigration policy observers that Mr. Alexander was running CIC under the subtle direction of his predecessor, Jason … Read More
Environmental Overview – Bangkok
The following is a summary of the Environmental Overview of the immigration functions at the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok (the “Environmental Overview“). The Environmental Overview was prepared as part of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2015-2016 planning exercise, and is current as of March 2015. Environment The Canadian High Embassy in Bangkok (“CIC Bangkok”) provides temporary resident visa services to residents of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. It assists in permanent resident applications where possible, as it is a sub office of the Regional Processing Centre based in Singapore. It is a small office and does not have the resources to undertake sites visits. Temporary Resident Program As with other visa posts, CIC Bangkok is reporting that E-apps “sap considerable resources” due to the time that it takes to process an E-app compared to a paper file. The fact that Thai police certificates take 4-6 weeks also significantly impacts processing times. The TRV approval rate is 87%. For study permits the overall approval rate is 65%, with most refusals being based on lack of medicals. The full report is below. Please note that this report did not occur with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, and the report was obtained through an Access … Read More
Updated Predictions of the Immigration Consequences of the Election
In August, 2015, I wrote an article for the Policy Options magazine on what the results of the October 19, 2015, federal election would mean for Canadian immigration policy. Although the article was published in September, at the time that I submitted the article to Policy Options Prime Minister Stephen Harper had not yet asked the Governor General to dissolve Parliament, and the parties had yet to begin formally campaigning. With the election now three days away, I thought it would be interesting to update my predictions on what the 42nd Canadian federal election would likely mean for Canadian immigration policy. I continue to believe that Monday’s election will likely be a pivotal event for Canadian immigration policy. The Conservative Party of Canada during its time in office has comprehensively overhauled Canada’s immigration system both legislatively as well as operationally. Monday’s election will likely determine whether many of its changes become permanent, or are undone, or whether immigration policies go in a completely different direction. In order to understand the possible consequences of the upcoming election on immigration policy we have to understand how much things have changed. Indeed, it is not uncommon for immigration practitioners to jokingly refer to … Read More
CIC Decisions Stolen at Gun Point En Route to VAC
Not all visa processing delays are caused by a lack of officers or over-bureaucratic requirements. Sometimes the decisions themselves can go missing, or, as apparently was the case in 2014, be stolen at gunpoint. Wow.
Where the Liberal Party of Canada Stands on Immigration (2015)
On October 19, 2015, Canada will have a federal election. There are four political parties that will likely win seats in Canada’s Parliament. One of them is the Liberal Party. The Liberal Party has made the following election promises regarding immigration: Expand Canada’s intake to 25,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq through immediate, direct sponsorship by the government of Canada. We will also work with private sponsors to intake even more. Invest an additional $200 million over this fiscal year and next to increase – without reducing health and safety standards – refugee processing, as well as sponsorship and settlement services capacity in Canada. Provide an immediate $100 million new contribution to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to support the critical relief activities in the region. Fully restoring the Interim Federal Health Program. Establishing an Expert Human Rights Panel for determination of designated countries of origin and to provide a right to appeal refugee decisions for citizens from these countries. This panel will include representatives from international human rights groups. Ending the practice of appointing individuals without subject matter expertise to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Nearly doubling the budget for family class immigration processing, in … Read More
The Right to Counsel at the Port of Entry
Section 10(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that: 10. Everyone has the right on arrest or detention (b) to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right; and In the immigration context, the right to counsel does not arise at most secondary examinations, unless the person is actually arrested or retained. As such, the Canada Border Services Agency’s (“CBSA“) general policy is not to permit counsel at examination if detention has not occurred. In practice, officers will often waive this policy if they are satisfied that legal representatives will not interfere with the examination process.
The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program After Alan Kurdi
The following is a cross-post from Policy Options.