My decision to publish e-mail exchanges between immigration representatives and Citizenship and Immigration Canada which I received through Access to Information Act requests has been met very favourably by blog readers. I am now expanding this to internal correspondence between Temporary Foreign Worker Program officers at Service Canada and Business Expertise Consultants. The following is an exchange between a Service Canada officer and a Business Expertise Consultant regarding who can be the employer contact in a LMO application. My thoughts on the exchange are at the bottom of the reproduction. Please note that what I have reproduced below should not be viewed as legal advice. I obtained a copy of this internal Service Canada question and answer through an Access to Information Act request (the “ATI”). The reproduction of question and answer has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. (I have decided not to reproduce the names of the Service Canada officers involved.) Please e-mail me if you want a copy of the original question and answer contained in the ATI. Background: ███████ has a 3’d party ███████ and his mailing address is ███████. This ID has 26 pages of activity in FWS, the last of … Read More
Question & Answer – Location of Rehab Application (IR-09)
The following is an e-mail exchange between an immigration representative and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) regarding criminal rehabilitation applications. Criminal rehabilitation applications are the process through which certain criminally inadmissible individuals can apply to become admissible to Canada, and resolve their inadmissibility. Please note that what I have reproduced below should not be viewed as legal advice. I obtained a copy of this internal CIC question and answer through an Access to Information Act request the (“ATI”). The reproduction of question and answer has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Please e-mail me if you want a copy of the original question and answer contained in the ATI. Question – May 20, 2013 Dear Madam, Sir, My client is a foreign national who filed a PR application based on the spousal category from outside Canada (i.e. in CPC Mississauga). He also needs an Approval for Rehabilitation, however, and is currently temporarily in Canada on a TRP. At the Immigration Summit last November in Toronto, I heard a GIC representative suggest that the PR sponsorship and the Rehab should be submitted together to CPC Mississauga. Therefore, that is what I did for … Read More
Question & Answer – Renewing IEC Work Permit (IR-08)
The following is an e-mail exchange between an immigration representative and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) regarding International Experience Canada (the “IEC”). The IEC, more commonly known as the Working Holiday Program (which is actually a program within the IEC), allows young people from several dozen countries to work in Canada on open work permits. As with any program, questions emerged regarding specific requirements, including whether IEC work permits can be extended. Please note that what I have reproduced below should not be viewed as legal advice. I obtained a copy of this internal CIC question and answer through an Access to Information Act request the (“ATI”). The reproduction of question and answer has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Please e-mail me if you want a copy of the original question and answer contained in the ATI. Question – May 13, 2013 Dear Sir or Madam: I wish to seek your advice concerning the following situation. I have a client, an _______, who came to Canada on a work permit issued to him on ___________ through the International Experience Canada (IEC) program. His work permit is valid to … Read More
Question & Answer – Post Grad Work Permit Continuity (IR-07)
The following is an e-mail exchange between an immigration representative and Citizenship and Immigration Canada regarding Post-Graduation Work Permits. The Post-Graduate Work Permit is a phenomenal program which allows graduates of Canadian post-secondary students to work in Canada on open work permits. It is not clear, however, whether people who complete a program, and then go into another program that they don’t complete, are eligible. Please note that what I have reproduced below should not be viewed as legal advice. The reproduction of question and answer has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Question – May 18, 2013 Dear Madam I Sir, I have a question about post-graduate work permits and Operational Bulletin 194. http://www. cic. qc. ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/20 1 0/ob 194A. asp OB 194 is clear that when an individual completes a credential, and then earns another credential immediately after completing the first, then the individual can combine the duration of the two programs when calculating the length of validity his/her post-graduate work permit My question pertains to the opposite scenario. Where an individual completes a credential, and then immediately starts a different program but does not complete it, then is … Read More
Ontario Superior Court upholds Constitutionality of Citizenship Oath Requirement
On September 20, 2013, Justice Edward Morgan of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “ONSC“) released his decision in McAteer et al v. Attorney General of Canada, 2013 ONSC 5895 (“McAteer“). McAteer involved a constitutional challenge to the citizenship oath requirement on the grounds that the requirement violates the constitutional protections of freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and equality that are found in The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the “Charter“). Ultimately, while the ONSC determined that the citizenship oath requirement does indeed violate s. 2(b) of the Charter‘s right to freedom of expression, the ONSC ultimately found that the breach was justified under the reasonable limits test under s. 1. The ONSC also held that the citizenship oath requirement does not breach either s. 2(a) or 15 of the Charter, which protect freedom of religion and equality. In reaching its decision, the ONSC interpreted the citizenship oath’s references to the queen in a very different way than I think most people do. It is this interpretation that is going to be the subject of this blog post, as I think the McAteer decision can provide some meaning and significance to potential oath takers. (For those interested in reading a summary of how Justice Morgan analysed the Charter challenges, … Read More
Annemarie Desloges, Thank you for serving our country, Rest in Peace
A sad day today. Annemarie Desloges, a 29-year old Citizenship and Immigration Canada employee, was among the at least 59 people killed in the terrorist attack which took place in Kenya over the weekend. Ms. Desloges served at Canada’s High Commission in Kenya as a liaison officer with the Canada Border Services Agency. Her husband, Robert Munk, was injured in the attack but has since been released from hospital. The Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development has issued the following press release: Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney today issued the following statement: “It is with heartfelt sadness that we learned of the death in the service of our country, one of our own, Annemarie Desloges, a distinguished public servant with Citizenship and Immigration Canada who served at Canada’s High Commission in Kenya. “We send our thoughts and prayers and those of all Canadians to Ms. Desloges’ family, friends and colleagues during this most difficult time. “Canada condemns this senseless act of violence in the strongest of terms, and we call on Kenyan authorities to bring the perpetrators of this terrorist attack to justice. “Canadian public servants around the … Read More
PSLRB Rules CIC Bargaining with PAFSO in Bad Faith
As the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (“PAFSO”) strike enters its fifth month, the Public Service Labour Relations Board (“PSLRB”) has ruled that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) is bargaining with PAFSO in bad faith. The PSLRB decision can be found here. CIC has filed a judicial review application of the PSLRB decision. There appears to be no end in sight to the PAFSO strike. However, by now most individuals who frequently interact with CIC have likely realized that many applications are continuing to be processed, and that there are certain steps that can be taken to minimize the impact of the PAFSO job action. Indeed, as the University of Toronto’s Varsity Newspaper reported: For students, the PAFSO strike practically seems to have caused, at most, a limited problem. Visas, while sometimes delayed, are not being withheld with any significant regularity, and in fact seem to be getting processed more efficiently than ever.
Kenney’s legacy on immigration: the good, the bad and the ugly – As Featured in Canadian Immigrant Magazine
On July 15, 2013, Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, shuffled his cabinet. He replaced Jason Kenney as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) with Chris Alexander, a former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan. At the time of his departure, Mr. Kenney was the longest serving immigration minister in Canadian history, having been appointed Minister on October 30, 2008. During Jason Kenney’s tenure at CIC, he overhauled Canada’s immigration system. It is difficult to convey in one article how thorough his changes were. Here is one telling example. In 2007 CIC released nine Operational Bulletins regarding program changes. In 2012, it released ninety-four. Many lawyers and commentators in the media were often critical of Mr. Kenney’s changes. However, there is little doubt that his policies helped the Conservative Party of Canada win a majority government in the 2011 federal election. As well, polls have consistently shown that the Canadian public views the Conservative Party of Canada’s policies on immigration much more positively than they view the government as a whole. With these limitations in mind, I will now review below what I consider to be The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, of Jason Kenney’s time as the … Read More
2013 – Environmental Overview – Dakar
The following is a summary of the Environmental Overview of the immigration functions at the Canadian Embassy in Senegal (the “Environmental Overview”). The Environmental Overview was prepared as part of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2013-2014 planning exercise, and is current as of January 2013. Areas in blockquote are direct passages from the Environmental Overview. Environment The Canadian Embassy in Dakar (“CIC Dakar”) provides visa services to Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. Remote printing facilities are available in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, and Mali. Dakar has been managing multiple changes and challenges over the past years in addition to catching up on inventories built from the crisis in Ivory Coast: developing operational structure and tools; training new staff (2 positions were filled in in Summer 2012); implementing 5 VACs in 2011-2012; finalizing closure of satellite offices in the region early 2012; office move to new facilities in June 2012; operational response to crisis in Mali in 2012 and again in 2013; implementing new regional positions over Summer 2012. .. Area travel takes time and is expensive. Availability of routes and airline services is slowly improving but routings remain … Read More
Environmental Overview (Kyiv) [Updated]
The following is a summary of the Environmental Overview of the immigration functions at the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv (the “Environmental Overview”). The Environmental Overview was prepared as part of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2013-2014 planning exercise, and is current as of January 2013. Areas in blockquote are direct passages from the Environmental Overview. Environment The Canadian Embassy in Kyiv (“CIC Kyiv”) provides visa services to residents of the Ukraine. There will be another Imagine Canada education fair this February. Approximately twenty institutions will take part in event which will visit Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk. This event along with last fall’s Languages Canada tour will put upward pressure on student applications but this may be mitigated by the high refusal rate which may deter some from applying. The new Federal Skilled Trades Program is likely to attract a lot of attention in Ukraine. Skilled tradesmen already make up the bulk of the Provincial Nominees and Temporary Foreign Workers. .. Kyiv started to process e-applications in 2013. Given that less than 30 cases were processed so far, it is too early to determine how it will affect work for Reception and Registry staff. Kyiv successfully hosted a temporary duty officer for remote work on Moscow cases in … Read More