Waldman & Associates and Larlee Rosenberg have launched a class action lawsuit against the Government of Canada’s proposed legislation terminated all Federal Skilled Worker Program applications made prior to February 27, 2008 that are still being processed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Numerous media outlets have reported on both the devastating impact the change has had on individuals, as well as the class action lawsuit, including: Lawyers Challenge Ottawa’s Move to Erase Immigration Backlog Would be Immigrants Take Ottawa to Court Over Cancelled Applications Immigration Changes Leave Chinese Woman’s Dreams Dashed Our press release states: If you applied to immigrate to Canada through the Federal Skilled Worker Program and have had your application terminated please contact us.
Canada Closes Tokyo Immigration Services
The Canadian embassy in Tokyo will no longer be processing immigration applications. All applications which would have previously been sent to Tokyo must now be sent to Manila. Considering the difference in processing times as shown below, I am sure many potential Japanese visa applicants are probably saying しまった. Type of Application Tokyo Processing Time Manila Processing Time Study Permits 3 13 Work Permits 1 15 Skilled Workers (2008-10) 17 18 Provincial Nominees 5 11 Investors 27 55 Spousal-Sponsorship 6 9
Accelerated Labour Market Opinions
On April 25, 2012, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (“Service Canada”) launched two initiatives that will significantly change the process by which Canadian employers interested in hiring foreign workers apply for Labour Market Opinions (“LMO”). These are the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion Initiative (“A-LMO”) and the introduction of online applications. The A-LMO The purpose of the A-LMO is to reduce LMO processing times. Service Canada has indicated that their objective is that A-LMO applications will be processed in 10 business days, a significant reduction from the current average LMO processing time of 2-4 months. In addition to reduced processing times, the A-LMO will also feature: A reduction in the amount of documentation that employers have to submit to Service Canada when they apply for their A-LMO. Significantly, employers will no longer have to submit proof of recruitment. Flexibility on the prevailing wage. A wage of up to 15% less than the prevailing wage for an occupation will be accepted provided that the employer pays similar wages to Canadians and permanent residents employed in the same occupation. A waiver of the mandatory in-depth interview. Eligibility To be eligible to participate in the A-LMO, an employer must: Have been issued at … Read More
Ministerial Instructions will be Jason Kenney’s Greatest Legacy
There are numerous significant changes to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”) buried inside the 2012 Budget Implementation Act (the “BIA”). The first change, the termination of approximately 300,000 Federal Skilled Worker Applications, was expected. The other, the expansion of the role of Ministerial Instructions, was not. Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (the “Minister”), has made several significant changes toCanada’s immigration system. Many of these are substantive (who is eligible to immigrate), and will likely be changed by future ministers and governments. His involvement in the creation and expansion of the use of Ministerial Instructions, a procedural change, however, may be his most enduring legacy. In 2008, amendments to IRPA provided that the Minister could issue instructions to immigration officers (“Ministerial Instructions”) regarding which applications were eligible for processing. This overturned the government’s long standing obligation to process all eligible applications in the order in which they were received. The Minister was further empowered to issue Ministerial Instructions to limit the number of applications processed, accelerate some applications or groups of applications, and return applications without processing them to a final decision. It was through Ministerial Instructions that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) reduced and … Read More
Changes to Language Requirements
New Language Requirements for Citizenship and PNP Applications Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) has introduced new language requirements for citizenship applications and certain provincial nominee applications. For citizenship applications, the changes will introduce objective language requirements for most applicantions. For certain provincial nominee program (“PNP”) applications, the changes will introduce mandatory language testing. The Citizenship Langugage Requirements Applicants for Canadian citizenship are required to demonstrate that they have an adequate knowledge of either English or French. Currently, this is done through a multiple choice written test known as the Citizenship Exam, which also tests knowledge of Canada and the responsibilities of citizenship. On April 21, 2012, the Government of Canada introduced regulatory changes that when they take affect will require that citizenship applicants enclose proof that they meet the language requirement with their citizenship application. Acceptable means of proof will include: A language test result from an authorized testing agency; Evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French; or Evidence of completion and achievement of a certain level in a government-funded language training program. Applicants submitting test results from an authorized testing agency will have to achieve a minimum standard of Canadian Language Benchmark (“CLB”) … Read More
Skilled Worker Non-Processing Letters Going Out
And so it begins. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has begun sending letters to Federal Skilled Worker Applicants who applied prior to February 27, 2008, that their applications will not be processed, and that they will soon be contacted regarding a refund. Regardless of what one thinks of the merits of cancelling the backlog (I am sympathetic to both sides’ arguments), the way in which the Government of Canada is executing its decision to cancel the applications is problematic. Indeed, I believe that the government is acting in a way that will lead to court intervention. In brief, the government is cancelling these applications without having yet passed any legislative changes permitting them to do. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations still state that the affected applicants are eligible to immigrate to Canada. From what I can tell, the Minister is currently governing through press release. Ironically, the press release notes that the cancellation and refund of the above applications will occur as a result of “proposed legislation”. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-03-30a.asp The proposed legislation has not yet been introduced either in the House of Commons or in the Canada Gazette. Despite that, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is already cancelling applications. … Read More
SCC Replaces the Oakes Test with the Reasonableness Standard
Over the last several years, the Supreme Court of Canada has released numerous administrative law decisions where it found that the reasonableness standard of review should replace other standards. On March 22nd 2012, in Dore v. Burraeu du Quebec, 2012 SCC 12, the Court extended this trend to proclaiming that the reasonableness standard should replace the Oakes test when determining whether an administrative tribunal’s action which limited a right under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms could nonetheless withstand s. 1 analysis. Section 1 analysis refers to the judicial process of determining whether a government’s breach (or limitation) of a Charter right is nonetheless constitutional pursuant to s. 1 of the Charter, which states that: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the rights and freedoms set out in it subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society. In 1985, the Supreme Court of Canada created the Oakes test for determining whether a Charter breach is reasonable and justifiable in a free and democratic society. The Oakes test first involves determining whether the government’s limitation of a Charter right is the result of a pressing and substantial objective. If it … Read More
Quebec Caps Economic Immigration
Quebec Caps Economic Immigration On March 21, 2012, the Government of Quebec announced that it is capping the maximum number of applications that it will receive in its economic programs. The programs that will be subject to a cap are the Quebec Investor Program, the Quebec Entrepreneur Program, the Quebec Self-Employed Worker Program, and the Quebec Skilled Worker Program . The introduction of the caps follows a dramatic increase in applications to these programs following the implementation of caps to corresponding federal programs. The caps will last from March 21, 2012 to March 31, 2013. During this time, the maximum number of applicants that can apply to immigrate to Quebec in the business stream are: Investors – 2700 Entrepreneurs and Self-Employed Workers – 215 Meanwhile, for the purpose of determining the cap, the Quebec Skilled Worker Program has been divided into three groups. There will be no limit on the number of people who can apply to the Quebec Skilled Worker Program – Group 1. To be eligible for Group 1, an applicant must be (please note that most of the following requirements contain specific additional provisions that are beyond the scope of this bulletin): A temporary foreign worker in … Read More
Legislating Away the Immigration Backlog
On March 7, 2012, Jason Kenney delivered a speech to the Economic Club of Canada which has generated considerable attention. He implied that the Government of Canada was considering legislating an end to Canada’s immigration backlog. His statements were: New Zealandlegislated an end to its backlog in 2003 and put in place a system where prospective applicants can be selected from a pool made up of all persons who have applied. Rather than wasting time and energy processing old applications, their resources can now be put towards actively matching the best qualified applicants to current jobs and economic needs. Now, in recent months, Prime Minister Harper has spoken about doing more in the economy of the future than just passively accepting applications. He has talked about the need to actively recruit people to come to Canadato fill specific skill shortages. There are exciting possibilities before us when it comes to the future of immigration toCanada. But of course, the first step is to eliminate this huge unfair backlog as soon as we can. Again, we’re open to creative suggestions and we will continue to consult with Canadians about the best way forward in immigration reform. Canada’s immigration backlog is not … Read More
Significant Changes Coming to the Spousal-Sponsorship Program – Conditional PR and Sponsorship Bars
Fresh off his efforts to crack down on crooked consultants, and having just introduced legislation to deter “bogus refugees,” Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, is now focusing his scopes on deterring sham marriages. He has made (or is in the process of making) two significant changes to Canada’s spousal-sponsorship program. While both of his reforms will have its critics, the changes are likely to have the overwhelming support of the Canadian public, and continue the Conservative government’s trend of harmonizingCanada’s immigration system with other Western democracies. The first change is a five-year sponsorship bar for recently sponsored spouses. A previously-sponsored spouse will now be barred from sponsoring a new spouse or partner for the first five years that the previously sponsored spouse is a permanent resident. The government’s objective is to prevent an individual who has been sponsored from divorcing the sponsor and shortly thereafter getting married and sponsoring someone else. This change took affect on March 2, 2012. If you were in the process of preparing a spousal-sponsorship application, and this change applies to you, then I’m sorry toinform you that there was no grace period. You will (likely) have to wait until you have been … Read More