Just when Immigration Minister Jason Kenney was blamed for removing gay rights in the Citizenship guide, he came out with a statement in his defense, stating that he has taken “full responsibility” of the matter present in the Immigration guide!
The minister was blamed for omitting the content which referred to the rights of LGBT people and their chances to immigrate to Canada. The minister, however, defended that the guide shows the diversity present in the nation and hence he is proud of the content.
Earlier the opposition accused the minister for not including the gay-rights milestone in the final Citizenship guide. Reports say that the early draft was arrayed with such rights but it couldn’t find its way into the final Citizenship guide.
The whole issue created a whole lot of controversy, demanding the minister to present an apology for the same. Liberal MP Marlene Jennings emphasized on the “apology” facet while NDP MP Olivia Chow stated that new comers should know that gay bashing is illegal and that gay marriage needs to be celebrated!
Kenney replied to this statement, stating that new Canadians are not potential gay-bashers! He defended the Citizenship guide to his extensive limits and took full responsibility of everything present in the guide! However, he provided no explanation for the content of the Citizenship Guide.
The guide also includes hints against spousal abuse and gender-based violence, to name a few. The issue of gay rights is still one of the hottest topics of debate in the Parliament till now!
With the Canadian province, Quebec implementing new immigration rules of Haitians, it would become easier for the latter to enter the province! Towards the end of the last month, provincial government announced that it is going to welcome more Haitians immigrants affected by the recent earthquake.
While the Province of Quebec expressed its intention to let more Haitians immigrants come to the province, the federal government is quite reluctant to alter the quota for permanent residents. According to the federal Minister of Immigration and Citizenship Minister, Jason Kenney, if the country increases the quota for permanent residents, as well as alter the definition of family class for immigrants, such steps may have a biased impression on other groups faced with disasters in their native lands. Thus, this is very important for a government to obey the immigration law, even when it attempts to be more flexible!
Quebec, as well as Canadian governments’ action for Haitians and their families in Canada, following the tragic widespread earthquake, where thousands lost lives, many still struggling with the lives, should really be acknowledged! The Canadian government has come up with a number of new rules in order to ease the immigration of Haitians, such as letting temporary Haitian residents to apply for extension of stay without additional fees; fast-tracking the adoption of Haitian orphans to name a few.
With the latest implementation of new rules for Haitian immigrants, it can be said that more and more people from the Caribbean nation would come and start a new life in Canada!
Recently, Prince Edward Island, Canada made changes to its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). With the implementation of new amendments, immigrants will find it easier to go through the program in order to meet the requirements needed to obtain residency in Prince Edward Island!
Earlier, individuals who intended to migrate to Canada under the PEI PNP Entrepreneur Stream had to deposit $25,000 as an evidence of good faith, along with the intention of settling in the province. However, the amount gets refunded, given the applicant had resided in the province for a year. As per the new amendment, this requirement has now been relaxed.
Also immigrant entrepreneurs whose proficiency in English or French, being the two officially accepted languages in Canada is insufficient were required to deposit an amount of $20,000, that to be returned after they demonstrated a certain level of language skills in either of the languages. With the changes to the PNP, the PEI government lowered the standard for the official language skills.
The PNP is a federal-Provincial partnership between the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island. The program was introduced to accelerate immigration to Canada for individuals, as well as families who intend to settle in Prince Edward Island. As per the rules of the program, applicants must meet the basic requirement of having moderate proficiency in either of the two Canada’s official languages, English or French. PNP allows applicants to immigrate under three categories- (1) Skilled Worker; (2) Immigrant Entrepreneur; and (3) Immigrant Partner.
The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) is one of the sub-divisions of The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. It hears cases on refugee claims and determines whether the applicants appearing before it are those who require protection or are the ones who are convention refugees.
Here is a quick difference between people who are “Convention refugees” and those who are in “need of protection”:
Convention refugees is the term given to those who have left their country of origin and are draped with a fear of banishment or ill-treatment based on their religion/ nationality/ race/ their political views or association with any social group.
Persons in need of protection are the ones who have a threat of torture, face risk to their life or a threat of cruel treatment after they are removed from their country of origin. (Here, the risk must be personal and exist throughout the nation; the rust should not arrive from any lawful judgment; the risk may not be caused due to nation’s inability to offer ample healthcare measures)
How to make the claim?
The first step is to notify an Immigration officer. From there, your claim would be sent to RPD.
The claimant needs to provide evidence in support of the case and prove that the claim meets the requirements for being eligible for Refugee Protection Division.
After clearing the eligibility, applicant would be informed about the hearing, between which, the applicant has to fill the Personal Information Form.
For more info, consult an Immigration and Visa expert and know about your claims.
The sponsorship appeal process comes under the Immigration Appeal Division. Following is the procedure that is followed while making an appeal:
If a Canadian citizen or a PR files an application to sponsor a relative or a family member to Canada and is rejected, he may file an appeal with the IRB within 30 days.
The appeal is considered by the IAD member according to the tribunal process.
There are two options. Either the appeal is allowed or it is dismissed. In the case of dismissal, the case is closed. But in the case when the appeal is allowed, two options are possible in the case: Either the CIC denies PR visa on the basis of certain grounds or CIC grants a PR to the applicant.
Not everyone can appeal….
If the applicant has been charged of a crime with a sentence of a minimum of two years, he is not eligible to file an appeal in the IAD.
If the applicant has been involved in violations of human or international rights or found a threat to the prospective country where he or she is intending to migrate, he won’t be able to apply in the IAD.
Some sponsorship appeals are moved towards an “Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure” (ADR) where you would be required to sit with a DISPUTE RESOLUTION OFFICER who would hear your case. He would be responsible to clarify the issue and convince both the parties to come out with a final decision. In a case, where the parties fail to do so, the case is diverted back to IAD.
IAD takes decision on matter linked with following Immigration appeals:
Sponsorship Appeals: you may appeal to IAD, if your application to sponsor your relative to Canada has been rejected. It is mandatory that you should hold a PR or should be a citizen of Canada. You can appeal in the following cases:
If the family members has been charged of serious criminal offence or has linkage with an organized crime.
The application has been earlier rejected on security grounds or violation of human rights.
Misrepresentation
Removal Order Appeals: If you have been ordered removed from Canada, you have all the right to apply in the Immigration Appeal Division. If the applicant is found guilty of any of the below mentioned facets, he may lose his eligibility to apply for the same:
Has committed a serious crime and has been sentenced an imprisonment of more than two years/ holds involvement in an organized crime.
Has been rejected on security grounds
Has been charged of violation against human or international rights.
Residency Obligation Appeals: The applicants may lose their PR, if found that they have failed to fulfill the requirements of residency obligation. It is mandatory to show a physical presence of 730 days out of every 5 years. Those who are deprived of their PR on the basis of the above mentioned facet may apply to the IAD.
Minister’s Appeal: The Minister of Public Safety can present an appeal to the IAD on the basis of admissibility made by the ID.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada is a judiciary committee that reports to the Canadian government on issues linked with Immigration and Refugee. At present, Brian P. Goodman, is the current chairman of the committee.
The Board is decked with four divisions: Refugee Protection Division, Immigration Division, Immigration Appeal Division and Refugee Appeal Division. Each division of IRB has the onus of making decisions on various immigration related issues, but the tribunal process for every division remains the same. The hearing is commenced in the similar way as if a hearing is going on in a court, rather in an informal manner. The process follows Canadian laws. Following are some of the facets linked with the Tribunal process:
The applicant appearing before IRB holds the right to be represented by a trusted source (for instance an Immigration and Visa consultant, family member, to name a few). In addition, you have all the freedom to present arguments and documents for your case.
Hearing can be held by various means like in person, video conference or telephonic conversation also. The language used can be English or French and the applicant has the right to choose the language for his hearing. Person concerned can also apply for an interpreter.
“Member” is the term given to those who hear the case. Also, the hearings of the refugee are kept private while others can be made public.
The decision is made on the basis of the background of the applicant, documents and evidences provided by the concerned person, rules and regulations of the Canadian law and the hearing.
It is mandatory that the judge (also known as Member) should justify the decision made by him by giving ample reasons to support the final decision.
For more information on the cases applied under the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, take advice from an expert Immigration veteran and commence further.
In an attempt to meet the demands of French teachers in British Columbia, Canada, the recruiters of the province is eyeing at European skills. The recruiters are hoping to address the shortage of French teachers by traveling to job fairs in Europe.
British Columbia is in need of French teachers who could teach French in both English and French school systems. Recruiters like Janet Stewart traveled Paris and Brussels in Europe and attended job fairs at the end of 2009 in a hope to draw teachers to British Columbia who could deliver core French and French-immersion programs in English, as well as French schools.
Earlier, Quebec had been the reliable source of French-speaking teachers, but of late, the province is not producing sufficient number of teachers who could teach French. Thus, slowly the education sector, like many other industries are relying on foreign skills to address the labor shortage.
British Columbia is running short of speech-language pathologists; French-immersion teachers; education specialists; and teachers for areas like music, physics and special education. However, it is seen that teachers from foreign countries are not flocking as much as other skills immigrate do in various other sectors. This is because the province has not yet worked on some of its bureaucratic complications when it comes to gaining British Columbia certificate.
The executive director for British Columbia Chapter of Canadian Parents for French, Robert Rothon asserts the need of French teachers and said that the shortage of the teachers in the province has diminish the growth of French-immersion programs!
The city of Windsor, Ontario is introducing a new program, which is instrumental in getting foreign professional their certification to work in Canada. It is a sixty-five week program, a venture by the Ontario’s provincial government and Canadian federal government.
The significant program for foreign professionals is being offered at the University of Waterloo through the Odette School of Business. Initially, the program was started with a number of twenty-five students. The government expects to increase the number of students to sixty-five for the next term, since the program is now officially approved.
In order to be eligible to attend the program, students are required to hold international degrees. In addition, they should have work experience in accounting, finance or economics. In the course of the program, students may be required to study English, hone their skills in computer and attend university-level business classes. The program ends with written exams. Students would require to appear in exams in order to gain their certification.
The program has already helped many students with international and work experience gain employment in Canada. The Ontario government is now more hopeful to help immigrants find employments. It would help talented and skilled immigrants choose their right career options and get success in the their respective fields!
The new program for foreign professionals is part of Ontario government’s plan to help talented people engage in their fields of interest and find appropriate career opportunities! With the inception of this program, we hope Canada would attract more and more immigrants in search of better opportunities!
In an effort to help the earthquake stuck Haiti, the Canadian government has decided to come up with a plan that would ensure priority processing for the immigrants from Haiti. For this purpose, the rules for the refugees are thought of being revised so that the Haitian refugees could be permitted to live in Canada.
To begin with the relief operation, three military air planes carrying those evacuated from Haiti have already been brought to Montreal. These consisted of two hundred and seventy two people. The evacuees have been selected by the Canadian Embassy staff in Haiti for transport.
On the other hand, according to reports, four Canadians have also died in the massive earthquake with thirteen others injured and others consisting of almost five hundred and fifty people have been found. However, around one thousand four hundred and fifteen Canadians are still missing. A total of around six thousand Canadians were living in Haiti but only seven hundred people were registered with the Port-au-Prince embassy.
The Canadian government is also expected to consider policies that would allow Haitians who have Canadian relatives to come and live in Canada. However, deciding on whom to permit would be a major task.
Additionally, immediate amends include free passage of Haitians including those who are not traveling via commercial flights. With this, the government has permitted transports for aid purposes to stop in Canada for refueling purposes without the passengers to have a temporary visa for residency. The first two planes to have stopped by include that of a Russian and Chinese transport that were permitted to land based on the above grounds.
