The Government of Canada has made announcement that it would implement rigid regulations. The motto behind this step is to enhance the working conditions of applicants who come to work in the country on temporary basis as well as the care-givers in the nation.

The Federal government has confirmed that the employers have been exploiting and mistreating people who come here. According to Chair Nigel Thomson from the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants, the new stringent regulation would see to it that the temporary workers don’t face any hassles here and it would be made sure that employers play their rules.

In order to take care of this issue, the Federal government has implemented these rigid rules to take care of the employees who are live-in caregivers, plus the ones who work on temporary basis. The steps would save them from potential exploitation from their employers.

The rules came into implementation in April 2010. In accordance with these regulations, the employers would be required to give the contracts which have properly demonstrated wages, benefits and hours of duties, including the leaves which would be granted to these employees.

Also, starting from April 2011, new regulations will apply a stricter and accurate assessment to employments for these categories before the employers are granted the authority to hire. It will take care whether the employer who is hiring the workers are following the guidelines or not.

A refugee who came to Canada as a child and got committed in the world of crime is now been ordered deportation to his homeland Somalia, a place which he has not seen ever since he was eight years old. Abadir Ali, 26, the concerned man has been given the status of being dangerous to the nationals of Canada by the immigration officials of the country. A troubled youth forced Ali to get into the crime world.

In a ruling held recently, Judge Leonard Mandamin has confirmed that the man imposes much thread to the national of Canada outweighing the personal risks he would face in his native country. Reports say that Ali is currently upheld in the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre and has been struggling his deportation since the last twenty four months.

Felix Weekes, who is his lawyer, has come to his defense, stating that Ali has no one familiar in Somalia. In addition, he is not acquaint of his native language as well as the culture of Somalia. He in anger said that these immigration officials are sending this kid to a place to which he is completely unknown of! He does not know anything about Somalia.

Also, a Somali community in Ottawa has précised their worries about this particular incident and has sent a petition signed by almost two hundred people to CIC. The petition says that sending Ali back to his native land is equal to giving him a death sentence. It has also asked the government of Canada to delay or boycott the deportation till the time the conditions in his native land are not improved.

Every person would want that whichever country he visits or immigrates to; he must be able to really enjoy the beauty of that country. But sometimes language becomes a barrier for the person to really get to know about the country.

To break this barrier of language, the provincial government of Canada has introduced a new way that is by creating an online guidebook in different languages which would help the people to acquaint themselves with various places in the country. This move by Canadian government is a step towards reaching out to new Canadians.

In a statement, Cindy Andy, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Minister said that this new service will help the newly arrived Canadians to locate various recreational places such as parks in their region quite easily.

An individual can make the use of the new service by accessing a forty five page online guidebook which would be available in different languages including Punjabi, French, Spanish, simplified Chinese, Arabic, English and Tagalog (Filipino). Those newly arrived people from other countries in Canada do not have camping facilities in their homelands. For such people, this online guidebook can make it easier for them to locate provisional parks in the country where they can pursue their camping activities.

The official website of the guidebook is www.albertparks.ca/naturellanguage.com, which can guide them on their road journey in Canada. Canada is a beautiful country with breathtaking natural landscapes and it is famous for its hospitality and hygiene. And language must not become the barrier for the people to explore its scenic beauty.

The government of Canada is intending to make certain proposals in the immigrant investor category and hence would be coming out with certain amendments in the eligibility criteria meant for the same. Believe is that the alteration would help in strengthening the Canadian economy even further as more immigrants would be able to contribute in it.

According to the new proposals, new investors would be required to have financial assets of $1.6M. As compared to this figure, earlier it was essential to own a personal net worth of $800,000.

In addition to this facet, changes would require the applicant to make an investment of $800,000, a figure which has doubled its original amount of investment $400,000, which was in accordance to the earlier rules. The same was published in Canada Gazette on 26th June, 2010.

Till the time the amendments are implemented, the government will not accept any of the application forms under the concerned category. This would be done to prevent the extreme flocking of applications around the year. Since the year 1999, it has been the first time that the amendments are going to be inculcated under this category. Keeping in mind the easier eligibility criteria for this program, larger number of immigrants used to enter the country under this category.

Also, after the amendments would be finalized, the new forms would be processed along side the earlier ones, an aspect which will allow the government to know the benefits of the amendments at the first go. According to Minister Kenney, Canada is in need of Investor immigrants and the amendments would help the country in keeping up with the pace of changing economy.

With  the rising  fraud cases of married couple for obtaining Canadian visa has alarmed the Canadian government and they are planning to review their immigration laws for the newly married couples who apply for Canadian visa.

Jason Kenney, minister of Canadian immigration said that there is a planning to make the rules and regulations of Canadian marriage visa strict. This step is taken to prevent any fraud or cheating in lure of obtaining the Canadian visa through the status of one’s spouse.

There are some countries that are aware of such possibilities of fraud or cheating. So before giving them the visa they ask the newly sponsored couples to live for three months of probationary period to confirm if they are genuinely married or not

Recently a case of a Canadian woman came into light in which the lady was cheated by her husband who used her to obtain the Canadian visa. She met her husband when she was on a holiday trip to India. She is requesting that her husband’s visa should be removed and he must be deported from Canada back to his own country. She was cheated by her husband who married her just for the visa and moved to Canada without informing her. To add to her plight, she is now being asked for divorce by people with whom her husband is living and hand over the money to them.

Canadian immigration minister Kennedy said that it is very difficult to judge the legality of the marriage as initially the spouse claims that the person is my legitimate husband or wife but later on who can cheat who remains unknown. But Canadian government is now on it’s way to take some really serious and sensible steps to prevent such fraud marriages to occur.

As Canada is feeling the urge to attract more and more new skilled and younger workers into it, the country’s federal, provincial, as well as territorial governments came together to have talks on how to improve the country’s immigration system for that purpose. The meeting of the governments held in Ottawa.

In the meeting, Canadian immigration minister said that in order to confirm the country’s position in the world economy and face future challenges, Canada needs to retain its immigrants, as well as attract overseas skills it requires at this point of time. He was also caught saying that the combined efforts of Canadian governments would help the country reach it goals and prove itself as one of the best world destinations for the overseas immigrants.

The ministers from all the levels (governments) are committed to be cooperative in executing the country’s immigration system and would help welcoming and assisting new immigrants. Canada is already known for its welcoming nature when it comes to immigrants.

The governments in the meeting discussed many issues, including the significance of planning different aspects of immigration, including visa policies in order to make the department more complying for the needs of the economy. Immigrants and their success play an important role in making the Canadian immigration system to be responsive towards the Canadian economy. The ministers also had talked matters like progress on the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications. These provisions will help overseas workers in getting recognized for their training and eventually engaged in skilled work as soon as possible.

If you are already staying in Canada, one of the sure and easiest ways in which your clan can join you as immigrants is by taking the help of family class immigration. Following this route, you have the freedom to bring some members of you kin and allow them to immigrate to Canada, on the promise that during a certain time span, you would be responsible for taking their best care.

In order to fulfill the eligibility requirements, applicants who are intending to immigrate to Canada must have a relative who is eager to provide sponsorship to them. In addition, it is mandatory for the person living in Canada to have a Canadian citizenship or have a Permanente Residency Status. In addition, below mentioned requirements are a must to fulfill:

• The sponsor must prove that he has the financial ability to support the dependants
• He should be eager to sign a document with the Government of Canada or Quebec nodding to the fact that he/she would provide all the necessities to the dependants.
• The sponsor must be aged 18 or above that. Should not have any criminal record, not be a victim of bankruptcy and should not be under the removal of a PR status.

Other ways to enter Canada: In addition to the Family Class Sponsorship, there are other legal ways also, through which applicants can enter Canada. They are through a Travel Visa, Student Visa or on a Temporary Work Permit. Make sure you follow the legal route towards your immigration!

The visa denial series involving the Canadian High Commission in India and the Indian border protection personnel seems to be never ending. Even after expressing regrets by the Canadian immigration ministry over the issue, there were still few more details to come out. A latest report of an e-mail sent to a Punjab police officer tended to uncover the hypocrisy of the Canadian government over the whole visa dismissal saga.

Reportedly, Parmjit Singh Khaira had filed a petition for a travel visa to Canada in on August last year. However, he happened to be one of those security officials who have been rejected permits over the recent years. The Canadian High Commission in India dismissed his application after five days of his filing the same, citing the reason that Mr. Khaira does not fulfill the requirements of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act’s Section 35(1) (A).

As per the said section, Canada does not permit the entrance of the individuals who have engaged themselves in anti-human activities. Eventually, the officer had to face more interviews, following his appeal to the consulate general in Chandigarh. Still, he was not found eligible for the visa. He then appealed the immigration ministry for a review of the decision in written in March, 2010. Khaira was then sent an e-mail from the ministry that supported the views expressed by the High Commission. The ministry stood by the views that Khaira belonged to the group of inadmissible individuals who are not allowed by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

This particular case surely exhibits the slyness of the Canadian government, irrespective of its regrets over the series of visa rejection instances!

The Government of Canada accepts many visa applications from Indians who intend to live and work in Canada. But its recent refusal of personnel who were former defense and intelligence officers has created quite a stir amongst the Indian scenario. With Nirupama Rao, the Indian Foreign Secretary reacting tough to the allegations made by the Canadian High Commission, the issue has come quite far.

There are more than 1 million immigrants living in Canada who are of Indian origin. Agreed that the decision on giving a visa permit totally rests with the visa officer and is highly discretionary in nature! At the same time, it is not apt on a nation’s part or a visa officer of a particular nation to act rather irresponsible and terming the armed forces of a nation as being violent. The defense personnel of a nation serve the country and in the process do not hesitate to lay down their lives. This can be considered as sheer insult to the uniform and the nation as a whole.

Even though the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi has practiced visa refusal over the recent years, but this concern has become an issue, when the Border Security Force of India demanded a public apology from Canada, following the most recent case of visa application rejection of Fateh Singh Pandher.

As per the latest news, the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister, Jason Kenney has expressed remorse over the row of visa rejection cases that has been recorded in the recent times. He was caught saying that both the countries- Canada and India have always maintained a cordial relation and the undesired incidents have made him uneasy. This is very unfortunate that the Canadian commission in the capital of India has created such an unfavorable situation among the Indian public service officials, as well as the political arena. The minister has further confirmed that he has the utmost respect for the sub-continent and its public institutions and their operations.

The question may look as if it holds an association merely with BSF or IB staff members, but in its broader perspective, it can be applauded as a big political issue involving the image of both the countries at stake. Can we depict the refusal of visas as a strong political statement from Canada’s side? Why is this prejudice coming against the Indian applicants from defense services and intelligence background?

Coming back to embarrassment which India as a country and the applicants had to face during this overall episode, does offering an apology serve the purpose and allow the Indian defense and intelligence officials who suffered against such failures to forget about their humiliation?

Crux says that the apology can be seen as damage control, but real purpose will be solved if all the files so closed and refused are reopened and visa granted to all concerned! Needless to say, corrective changes in the legislation should be carried out at the earliest so that such unfortunate events do not reoccur again.

Reacting to the comments made by the Canadian High Commission, Nirupama Rao, the Indian Foreign Secretary said that when derogatory comments are made, India as a nation takes it very seriously. This is especially when something is said about the nation’s Border Security Force and rejecting an application for immigration of one of its ex-constables. The Citizenship and Immigration Canada was instantly contacted regarding the same.

The Canadian High Commission had refused an application of Fateh Singh Pandher who was a constable with the Border Security Force and is retired now. Post refusal, the High Commission stated the BSF as an extremely violent group under the paramilitary forces.

Now that the Canadian government is in a mode of damage control, the Canadian Spokesperson from the nation’s Foreign Ministry, Catherine Loubier said that Canada holds the democratic procedures of India in the highest esteem. More so, the Indian Army and the other related institutions are looked upon with tremendous respect by Canada.

This clearly projects the high level of irresponsibility on part of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. This leads to question many aspects on the procedures that are carried out as part of the immigration processes for Canada.

With suspicions raised, it is for sure that the Government of Canada has to set certain issues straight before things are calm again. This is especially important for an economy which is highly dependent on its immigrants for the development of its economy.