Canada Immigration Blogs by Attorney David Cohen

Time is no friend of Vilma Serrano. The middle-aged Toronto woman suffers from end-stage kidney disease and is in dire need of a kidney transplant. The problem is that there are more than 3,000 such people in Canada, and the wait for a kidney from a deceased donor can stretch to 10 years. Vilma has only been on the waiting list since 2009.

The alternative to prayer, patience, and dialysis is to locate a live donor, who is a suitable match and willing to part with one of his or her renal organs. Needless to say, these kinds of people don’t grow on trees, especially if they are not a close relative of the recipient.

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Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has introduced a new regulation, which it hopes will deter people from scamming their way into Canada and at the same time benefit the victims of marriage fraud. Read More »

I was quite fortunate growing up. Not only did I come of age in one of the most peaceful countries in the world, but I got to spend considerable time during my early years with my grandparents, all of whom lived long lives. It is difficult to put into words how it feels as a youngster to be on the receiving end of a grandparent’s warm touch and smile. It may be hard to explain, but everyone who has experienced it knows how special it is. Read More »

This well-known proverb concludes with the words “is worth two in the bush” and it means that it is preferable to have a small but certain advantage than the mere potential of a greater one.

I’ll tell you how this ties in with Canadian immigration. Read More »

Back in 2004, it took Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) 4.5 years, on average, to process an application for permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) category. By 2008, there were more than 600,000 FSW applicants and their dependents in the system awaiting a decision.

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This Canada Day, as we celebrate our good fortune, we should all take a moment to give thanks to Mohammad Asif. This 35-year old Afghan risked his life by working for our troops in Kandahar for three years. In recognition of his good service, Mohammad and his family were resettled in Canada as government – sponsored refugees last year.

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The intention of this blog is to add my voice to the large chorus of critics of Bill C-38, otherwise known as the omnibus budget bill, now before Parliament. The legislation in question is a 425-page document that contains all sorts of non-budgetary measures including significant changes to the Old Age Security system, Employment Insurance rules, the environmental assessment process and immigration. Read More »

Last Thursday, April 25th 2012, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) announced the implementation of a new Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (A-LMO) program. The introduction of this accelerated program is undoubtedly welcomed by many employers, who have been frustrated by rising LMO processing times across Canada. However, it is important to look at what kind of employer this program will help out, and what ramifications this may have for the overall Canadian labour market.

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Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is on a mission to transform Canada’s immigration policy. If all goes according to plan, gone will be the days when ambitious immigrants start near the bottom and work their way up the ladder of economic success. The new skilled worker immigrant will be younger and a well-trained tradesperson or a highly educated professional type with flexible human capital and a high level of language skills. For good measure, many applicants will need a prearranged job to be eligible for Canadian immigration.

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The Minister of Immigration has let it be known that we can soon expect changes in the way economic immigrants are selected under the Federal Skilled Worker program. We don’t yet know the exact details but from the dropped hints, you can pretty well rest assured that applicants in the professions will be required to prove their credentials meet Canadian standards and that more weight will be given to language proficiency. Read More »