Government Gets It Wrong
March 18, 2008Since it's inception in 2002, Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) has stood for the principle that anyone is entitled to apply for permission to live in Canada and to have his or her admissibility considered fairly, according to purely objective criteria. This core value is now threatened.
In an effort to modernize and streamline the visa application process, the Conservative party has introduced amendments to IRPA that would strike at the very heart of the current law. As a way to cut through the backlog of existing applications, there is a proposal to allow the Minster of Immigration to instruct the visa offices to pick certain candidates quickly, hold on to other applications for later consideration, and to return certain applications without consideration on the merits.
This is a poor approach that will not accomplish the desired results and in the next couple of days I shall be posting another blog explaining why. Please check back soon.
17 Comments:
Dear David
Its been 4years since we applied for permanent residence visas. We live in the U.A.E. although we are citizens of India. Both my husband and myself are qualified architects and my husband also got an offer from a Cnadian company in Toronto . All the formalities were complete and we were askedto send in our passports within a month after medicals were approved. Unfortunately there was a delay via our agents for the courier from the Commission to reach us and although our agents asked for extended time we were unable to send in our passports since our children's U.A.E. visas had also expired so we were not allowed to take tickets to any country without visas.
While we worked on that, our time for submitting passports expired and our 4 yrs of gruelling paper work and money has ben swept under the rug by the Commission and our file closed. Our medical will expire on the 22nd of this month. We are devastated and totally shocked. Is there any way out of this without having another 4 yrs of work as the Commission has asked us to do with new application and processing fees as if they didnt care for the 4 yrs of very accurate and patient paper that we had submitted. As a first step I have written to Mrs. Diane Finley,the Minister, but to date I have received no response.The recruitment company by whom we recd. the job offer was also shocked and they also have written to the Minister. My husband is highly qualified and had been personally selected by the client to work on the World's tallest tower - Burj Dubai- here in Dubai. Since then we have been receiving job offers from around the world but we had to politely turn down every offer in the hope of our Canadian visas. Is there any light at all at the end of this dark tunnel? Our mistake was delaying the submission of passports ffor the simple reason that we are living in a foreign country and have to comply with visa obligations here also and they take the time they need for renewal work as was in our case. When 2 countries' visa formalities clash, who will understand?..And we have lost in the end.
Please advise.
Thank you very kindly - jayk
Dear Jayk,
It is not my practice to comment on individual responses to my posted blogs. However, your situation is both sad and compelling. There is some light at the end of the tunnel, so you should not despair. You and your family will clearly be a benefit to Canada and it is unfortunate that you now find yourself in a position of starting the application process over again. As I did not represent you during your Permanent Resident application, it would not be right for me to comment on the details of your refusal. Your posting notes that your husband has a job offer from a Canadian employer who is still interested in hiring him. Under the circumstances, the solution would be for the employer to make a genuine job offer to your husband, who would then apply for a Canadian Work Permit. At the same time, an Open Work Permit can be requested on your behalf. Your children will be permitted to study in Canada during the validity of the Work Permit. The process should not take very long... less than a couple of months at most. Once in Canada on a Temporary Work Permit, you could submit a fresh application for Permanent Residence to the Canadian Visa Office in Buffalo, New York. I hope things work out for you.
David Cohen
Hi David Cohen,
I want to thank you for the good work you are doing, keep it up so as open the eyes and of those of us who are ignorant about the process of the Canada Immigration system and end may endup dealing with wrong hands in our variuos countries.
Kind Regards
I totally agree with Mr. Campbell that if they pass this law its an open discrimination; which is simply given the consideration to other candidates over a valid candidate without any justification.
The new amendments to the immigration process will result to unfair judgments. There are lots of people who have great skills and experiences but still they are not being approved due to funds or other components. If Canada really wanted to have great workers to cover the shortage, they must look into the hindrances and obstacles that applicants have like funds. Also, I agree with the initial comment stated here that this will open to discrimination. Why? Because there is human intervention and decision built into it. Red tape is still an ongoing problem in the government and so, this will be a potential issue. If there's backlogs happening, why not increase the quota for each immigration officer so they will have better output. It's their job and why do other people needs to be affected with it. If they need to work the weekends to cover it, then they should without extra pay because they work for the people.
How will this affect people whose applications are already in the pipe line. Will those be processed first or will the new applications be processed side by side ?
Mr. Cohen,
Ultimately you are probably correct, but it's difficult to see the Bill's true intention. After working with an Ontario Hospital, it's clear that there is a wave of Health Care Professionals leaving Canada for the US. There is a large shortage of Health Care Professionals in both countries. My wife has 21 years experience as a Critical Care Nurse and we were rejected at the border to even interview. Hospital Recruiters need this bill passed to be able to attract and hire US Healthcare Professionals if the intention is to expedite work permits in areas with critical shortages. Remote area communities are having a very difficult time attracting staff from within Canada. Due to the process, Recruiters don't attempt to recruit US Staff. A remote area such as Dryden with all it's lakes is attractive to some US Residents (we were examples). We've since concluded that if the process will take 1-2 years, it's not worth pursuing and we discontinued even considering relocating to Dryden, Ontario. If the bill is intended to expedite the process for particularly Physicians, it does have merit. It would be very welcomed by Hospital Recruiters.
Sincerely, Dan
I have been inquiring on and off for a few years, about immigrating into Canada from the US. But although I will NOT be seeking work (since I am retired and have sufficient pension income to pay my own way, and also I have TOTAL health insurance, so I will NOT be a burden on the social healthcare), since I do not qualify for a "needed" job type, there is absolutely NO provision for such an immigration! That is so, even though my wife and I moving to Canada would actually ADD to the local economy and by virtue of our NOT relying on local job openings, probably ultimately CREATE jobs. There is not even acknowledgment of the benefits such immigrants would bring to Canada.
The system has to be selective to keep the balance to avoid situations when we welcome 100,000 immigrants from one culture and just 1,000 from another. Especially when majority of that 100,000 fail to integrate and preach for our values to be taken down. Canada needs carpenters, welders, software developers and truck drivers, but do we need any more hostile preachers or fake rolex sellers? Canada has to become more selective in who be allow to come in and live next to us. We need to open doors for skilled people, this is beyond any doubt, but we need these skilled people to be able to integrate and share our values. Just like you decide who you want to appear at your table for a holiday, Canada must decide who we want to come over and stay. Not everyone is welcome. Just like New Zealand and the USA, not to mention Malaysia or Saudi Arabia, Canada must say it out loud and clear. Not everyone is welcome here. Like it or not, this is the truth.
I absolutely agree about keeping out hostile preachers and fake Rolex sellers.
But the fact is that I am a Journeyman Carpenter. I'm too old to work at the Trade, but I am certainly willing to TEACH the trade. With more Canadians being taught Carpentry, there would be less need for such immigrants.
I am also a Certified Energy Rater, able to assess the energy efficiency of a structure.
I am also a computer technician, with A+ and Network+ certifications.
I am retired, but I can TEACH all of any of my various bodies of knowledge.
And as I mentioned in an earlier post, I DO NOT NEED any job to support myself, since my pensions are sufficient to do that, and I have the best possible Healthcare Insurance, so I would not have to use Canada's Social Healthcare system, but my insurance will pay for ALL medical, hospital, and pharmaceutical costs.
But Canadian Immigration is apparently not willing to consider allowing someone in who will actually contribute to the economy not through employment, and is more than willing to be a volunteer teaching what I know.
Too bad, because I would really like to move out of this war-mongering Republican dominated place, to Canada.
I know much about Canada, having grown up in New York, and visited Canada (mostly Ontario and Quebec) many times over the years.
To Geoff Tamplin and the one who said “Not everyone is welcome here”.
Geoff, Canada recognizes a large shortage of Nurses, yet, my wife with 21 years of experience and a 4 year degree, RN Status with a Certification in Critical Care (CCRN) was denied access into Canada to simply Interview at a Hospital. Your frustration is shared by many I suspect.
I don’t believe the Canadian Government will publicly state as a matter of record that they will not accept anyone from a specific country. I do agree with you that it should be stated out loud and be clear. The Canadian people can state it out loud and clearly as a whole via a National Poll. My biggest concern when considering relocation to Ontario was how the general Canadian Population feels about USA Immigrants. If the majority of the Canadian people do not welcome/desire USA Immigrants, this is something I really want to know. Not to make an issue out of it as I would simply respect your wishes. I would certainly not want to relocate to a country where the majority of the people do not want me. This is a bad situation for everyone. I ask you and/or any Canadian reading this to push for this type of a National Poll and publish it. If one has already been taken in the recent past, please tell me where I can view it’s results.
It would be certainly bold to publish and if it was negative, the proper response from the USA should be to improve relations. However, our current Government is based upon self preservation and self interest (unfortunately) and no doubt would just ignore the poll. But it would save many of us a lot of time and frustration while reducing the number of Work Permit requests and help you to expedite the people your country does desire. You can see from this post, many of us are beginning to see our Government transitioning to a servant of the Rich/Corporations and is no longer “By the People and For the People”. Anti American sentiment from other countries is not taken personally by us as we now are beginning to understand that it stems from the unknown actions of our Government and American Corporations exploiting other countries.
Again, please state it “Loudly and Clearly” either Government Policy or from the People as it would be greatly appreciated by anyone interested in relocating to Canada.
Said that not everyone is welcome in Canada, as a Canadian, I must clarify that I was not talking about American people with whom we share values, language, democratic tradition and ancestry. I am certain that 99% of Canadians see Americans as our extended family members who are always welcome here, for a day or for a lifetime.
As of the immigration quotas, Ottawa has to look closer at the US experience with a quota system implementation. I believe it works well in the US and discourage many unwanted individuals from landing there.
Speaking of restrictions imposed on the movement between Canada and the US, seeing millions of people crossing the border daily please do not be fooled into believing that it is as easy as peeling apples. CBP rejects Canadians from entering the US to work temporarily, and CBSA on our side of the border rejects US citizens in the very same manner and for a variety of reasons, such as a DUI charge which is a joke in the US but serious offence in Canada. Also, green card lottery in the US does not allow Canadians to participate. And Canadian government does not have special provisions at this time to expedite immigration from the US. Hope the Bill tabled by Conservatives will change that.
I have no idea why Canada rejects a nurse when we are loosing hundreds if not thousands of them to the US annually. There may be some other reasons, find out, address and solve! I have known an American trained nurse in British Columbia. She has immigrated and currently works as a nurse. I have no idea how she did it though. If a US nurse has been rejected entry because of her intention to attend an interview, this is of course not fair. You may drive across the border in a couple of weeks again as tourists or to visit a family in Canada or what may be your situation. When in Canada, go attend that interview, and take it from there. Good luck!
To a US retired person I may say that I also agree - it looks like you may be very useful and successful in Canada and it is a pain not to have people like you amongst us in Canada. However, I believe, this is the difference between Canada and the US healthcare systems that may bar you from entering Canada as a permanent resident. Look, Canada has federally and provincially subsidized socialist-type healthcare system, similar to what they have in Germany or Sweden. If you a visitor, you pay for your insurance and use it here in Canada, if needed. When you become a permanent resident in Canada, you go under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Canadian healthcare system is yours to use with or without any other insurances you may, or may not, keep. This is why they do not consider your insurance from the US. When you are in Canada as a permanent resident, not a temporary visitor any more, you can cancel it immediately and use Canadian system to its full extent. And no court can prevent you from doing that no matter what.
If the US has a similar healthcare system as we enjoy here in Canada, that issue would not be a problem and you would already be living here and teaching your trade. In the meantime, you can find an employer in Canada and get here as a work permit holder. This is a great route to permanent residency to people like you. Good luck!
I am a Nigerian living in Lagos. I have applied in June 2001 for immigration visa under the skill worker immigration program. I did my interview in Accra Ghana in January 2006 and medical about four weeks after the interview. My application was querried in December 2006 for more information on proof of fund which I replied. I was issued another medical in October 2007 which I did immeditely. I have not heard from the CIC office since the last medical.
I still wonder why it takes as long as a whole year to receive any correspondence on ones application. Is it impossible to expand the capacity of CIC to enbale it complete processing immigration visa application within one year of submitting the application? I am finding it difficult to embark on any long time program for me and family as it could be disrupted by sudden approval of the immigration visa.
Taken all comments into consideration I still don't understand how an immigrant would benefit from the new bill....
Let me briefly state our case: We, a family of four (two adults, two kids) from Holland, applied for a PR Visa in january 2006 in the Skilled Worker category, since we have no education in a certified medical profession, nor are we farmers or truckdrivers,those being popular professions to obtain a visa quicker.
When we applied, waiting times were practically a year. In two years waiting time has more than doubled: we have been waiting over 24 months and the end is still not in sight.
We are qualified people who are more than willing and able to run a succesful business, but we have no history as entrepeneurs.
So PNP & entrepeneurship were no option for us, nor was sponsorship.
So the skilled worker category was our best change to obtain a visa for Canada.
There are many people like us in Western Europe, in the skilled worker category.
People who are willing and able to set up a new life in Canada and commit themselves to intergrate and make good citizens. People who are used to hard work and who know what to expect, who come prepared and, as a bonus, mostly bring more money than is required.
We are worried that the supposed immigrants waiting for their visa in the skilled worker category will least benefit from the supposed new legislation.
Although at first sight they might not seem to have the distinct specific skills of immediate utility, they are the backbone of newcomers in Canada.
Filling in gaps in the labourmarket, setting up new businesses, contributing to society.
It would be a huge loss for the canadian immigration system if this category was to be regulated in a way that it would be virtually impossible for normal, hard working people, like ourselves, to enter Canada and become new citizens.
I find it amazing how much self serving commentary comes from immigration lawyers who's need to pay the rent distorts reality.
A Monday, April 14, 2008, article on the pro-China demonstration on Parliament Hill raises a concern with respect to the nature of Canadian immigration over the past twenty years.
A demonstrator who immigrated six years ago from China said, “I think our country deserves the Olympics.” It is evident that by “our,” he means China. There-in lies the distressing difficulty. Many of us are immigrants to this great country, including myself fifty years ago, yet all immigrants that I had the pleasure of knowing, previous to the recent past, considered Canada their country.
Of course there is some emotional attachment to one’s native land, however if you are going to immigrate to Canada, to enjoy the social and economic fruits that its citizens have established and built for themselves and their families, then you should do so with conviction. If this environment is not satisfactory, then why come? Without conviction there is no commitment, and you are simply passing through much more temporarily than the rest of us. As an immigrant I came here to provide positive energy to this vast country and help build Canada, not drain its usually generous population.
Immigration can be a positive engine for growth, although it can be an extremely destructive force, if not effectively managed. Canada’s current immigration policies are out of control, and have been mismanaged for years. Immigration possibly ranks at the top of the list of critical elements undermining the well being of Canadians and their way of life. Parliament’s immigration policy for the past three decades has created a long term problem for this country whose negative repercussions on Canadian society are surfacing and will increase during the coming decade.
The experience of being a senior executive as well as venture capitalist both in Canada and in the U.S., provided me with exposure to experiences resulting in a perspective evidently differing dramatically from that of our civil servants or elected officials. No one I have ever done business with ever represented having difficulty hiring appropriately trained or suitably educated employees to fill vacant positions in this country, unless there was a purposeful intent to cheaply outsource services offshore.
Legal documents can be subjected to extensive abuse in foreign countries currently representing the principal source of immigrants. Canadian immigration offices located in countries representing the vast majority of recent immigrants have difficulty verifying the veracity of any papers or documentation presented by immigrants seeking entry to Canada. The ‘system’ in many countries is pliable and susceptible to bribe and threat. There are few countries in this world where ‘documents’ cannot be bought or coerced. That is assuming the immigration offices themselves are void of influence from bribes and threats. All this pressure places doubt on the applicants (background, credentials etc.) and places even more uncertainty on the ‘extended family’ of the applicants allowed in. It is clear that our government is grossly misleading Canadians when it claims it’s immigration program brings in trained and educated foreign talent to fill our supposed needs. The reality is that a small minimum percentage of total immigrants entering Canada presently fit profiles imagined by our government. It is also arrogant of our political leaders to pretend we are bringing in the likes of professionals, from countries who need them more than we do, but don’t have educational infrastructures to educate their replacements.
Given the very loose definition of the family in the immigration act of Canada and Parliament’s bent toward lax rules, one immigrant can and does sponsor innumerable numbers of individuals to tag along into Canada. If you spend some time on the street talking to people involved in the Canadian immigration game, one can readily get a sense of the extent of the system’s abuse, including what can only be described in some cases as the creation of slave labour. Immediate family and extended family members require no skills, education or training, but represent the vast majority of the aggregate number of immigrants entering Canada each year, and are becoming very dependent on Canada’s welfare and medicare gift basket. The particularly disturbing fact is that our immigration policy has no clear definition for ‘extended family’. The net result is that of the hundreds of thousands coming in each year, a small percentage become wage earners, and whole communities and enclaves have become very isolated from the larger Canada. Is it a surprise that crime has so drastically increased in our major cities, over the past generation?
Why is it so hard to understand that Canadians made conscious decisions to NOT overpopulate their country, and part of that decision was to limit the size of their families? Canadians long ago decided they want a different lifestyle than that of most countries. Our government should consider it a ‘trust’ to be protected diligently. Canadians have determined they would rather not live in overcrowded, crime ridden, over-polluted and unstable cities, as exist in so many places around the globe. Segregated and overcrowded enclaves do not make for a strong whole. Maintenance of Canada’s way of life requires some understanding of how it was achieved and why. Canadians should expect conscientious attention on the part of those we have elected and hired to run our government, particularly in the coming economic slow-down.
We would like to see that our children’s and grandchildren’s futures not become burdened with an overhead that transforms Canada into a third world country. We would like to see new Canadians committed to this country first, and others second.
All members of Parliament, should dedicate more effort on the provision of full education to all Canadians, including college and university education, not just high school. An educated electorate is where the assurance of a stable and productive future of any country lies. Cultural differences can be positive, however we should have grave concerns with the nature of the out-of-control situation that we are creating with the absurdly wide open doors we have allowed for.
The following are some of the elements I suspect most Canadian tax payers would still like to enjoy:
• Un-congested cities where work does not mean a 1-2 hour commute.
• Clean air we can breathe.
• Clean, crime free neighborhoods we can raise our kids in. Being able to go for a walk without having to carry a baseball bat, or worse.
• Homes we can afford without having to move so far beyond the fringe that we feel like we don’t belong.
• Clean water coming out of our taps without requirement of filters.
• Garbage dumps that can actually handle our garbage, not the current problem of overflow that no one wants to see arrive in their communities.
• A healthcare system that actually functions within reason so when a citizen needs an operation, he or she don’t die waiting.
• Classrooms that can handle the influx and are capable of handling the provision of English instruction to new arrivals.
This list can go on… but it’s simple. Bring immigration under control.
This would also give new immigrants a chance to succeed, since statistics from the Canadian Council on Social Development suggest they are not. The majority are at poverty level. Why is adding to the underpaid labour pool a good thing for Canada? It isn’t. Our economy cannot absorb the influx and taxpayers cannot support the burden. The world’s single biggest problem isn’t water, or climate change, it is overpopulation and congestion. Why is that good for anyone? We are choking ourselves into oblivion on this globe, but first we seem to be forcing ourselves through the gates of overstress. Thanks Ottawa.
We require some less self-serving representations from the immigration industry. There is also urgent need for some POLITICAL WILL and understanding.
Considering the long comment by "Anonymous", and very much agreeing with the obvious accuracy of his assessment, I find it extremely ironic that Canada Immigration and the Canadian politicians have crafted a set of "standards" for immigration that PRECLUDE someone such as myself. For most of my life I have been a great fan of Canada, and would like to immigrate and become a Canadian resident, and eventually a citizen. But the rules preclude me from immigrating because I do not fit into any of the occupational categories that are deemed acceptable.
This is all DESPITE the fact that I am FULLY SELF-SUPPORTING, having income from pensions and annuities, and also MEDICALLY self-supporting due to DOUBLE healthcare insurance.
While a laborer in the "correct" category may be permitted to immigrate, even though the income earned may not meet their needs, my ability to pay my own way would most likely actually CREATE jobs and work and increased local cash flow wherever I were to move to.
So "Anonymous" is perfectly correct in denouncing the Immigration Industry and the Legislators for their questionable decisions...
I do agree with Anonymous, although it may seem strange, since I will become an immgrant too.....
But I feel it is very important to make a distinction between immigrants applying for a visa for Canada.
I'm hesitant writing this down, since all is not as black and white as it may seem....I'll try and hope I make myself clear in a way without being discriminative.
European immigrants, in general, don't go to Canada with the intention to bring their whole family with them.
And bribing is cerrtainly not a way to get things doen down here.
In that sense the Canadian society is based on corresponding angles as the European society.
European immigrants come to Canada to improve their quality of life, not necessarily finacially, but in the sense that they seek more breathing space, nature, tranquility, shift down their pace, etc.
We allready have a high standard of living, income, etc.
But for some of us the ratrace eats more out of us than it returns.
Post a Comment