| Rick
Howat*
has recently assumed
the position of V.P. Marketing and Development with First
Entrepreneur Enterprises, developing and promoting business
immigration programs in Canada.
(more
details at the bottom) |
|
Raising funds for terrorist purposes to be a crime now
As
stated by Justice Minister Anne McLellan on September 18, 2001, it will
become a criminal offence to raise funds in Canada for
terrorist groups. [Read
More]
Previous
Columns:
Common
Policies for Canada – U.S.A. Borders?
Since
the unprecedented and savage attacks on the United States on September 11,
2001, a key question for the Canadian government and Canadian people has
been. [Read
More]
Labour
– Canada in Desperate Need
High
tech has long garnered all of the attention when it comes
to recruiting foreign skilled labour. [Read
More]
'Citizenship
and Immigration Canada' Responds to Natural Disasters
'Citizenship
and Immigration Canada'
(CIC) is committed to a humane, flexible response when
natural disasters abroad affect the relatives of Canadian
citizens and permanent residents.
[Read
More]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Raising
funds for terrorist purposes to be a crime now
As
stated by Justice Minister Anne McLellan on September 18, 2001, it will
become a criminal offence to raise funds in Canada for terrorist groups.
It
has long been known that many groups in Canada are engaged in exactly this
type of fund raising for causes that are considered to be terrorist in
nature. The legal procedures proposed will further enhance legislation
already before Parliament by removing “charitable status” from varied
organizations thought to be involved in raising money for terrorism.
The
measures McLellan is proposing go beyond legislation already before
Parliament that would strip charitable status from groups that are
believed to be raising money for terrorism.
In fact this past week, Justice Minister McLellan tabled an omnibus
bill, C-16, in the House of Commons that will provide sweeping powers to
law enforcement agencies to enhance their ability to obtain and analyze
information pertinent to suspected terrorist activities.
Bill
C-16 will obviously be walking a fine line between individual and civil
rights and the need for security on behalf of Canada as whole. Frankly, it
becomes obvious that the security issues will take a more pronounced role
than in the past.
Bill
C-11, the government’s new bill on immigration, is said to provide for
minor changes to the way security issues are presently dealt with, but
there is talk that the new bill may not make it through the Senate
approval process as the Senate is demanding major changes or a total
re-writing of the bill to further enhance security measures.
Bill
C-11 does indeed provide for an increase in “initial” security
screening of refugees and undocumented arrivals in Canada, in addition to
restricting appeals for those facing deportation. In addition, measures to
detain persons, such as those described above, exist even under current
legislation where persons so described can be detained for “reasonable
grounds to believe the person may be a danger to the public”, and/or
“unlikely to appear for a hearing if released on their own
recognizance”.
Detractors
of Bills C-11, and C-16, obviously are denouncing the effect these bills
may have on freedom of association and political participation in Canada
but one would believe most residents of Canada, in a post September 11
world, are willing to give up some of these protections in an effort to
maintain our general lifestyle and be secure in the knowledge the
likelihood of being attacked in a similar fashion once again has been
greatly reduced.
Common
Policies for Canada – U.S.A. Borders?
Since
the unprecedented and savage attacks on the United States on September 11,
2001, a key question for the Canadian government and Canadian people has
been “what, if any, was our role in possibly providing terrorists the
means to operate, co-ordinate and plan any portion of the attacks carried
out against New York City”?
This
question has dogged our government since September 11, 2001, with weak
responses by our Prime Minister, stating “no proof of terrorists in
Canada”. This statement carries very little weight when confronted with
the numerous reports by Canadian Security and Intelligence Service and the
RCMP stating that there has been significant activity – fundraising
being one notable activity – in Canada for some years now.
U.S.
President George Bush has stated his desire to see common visa policies
developed for immigrants and visitors. Prime Minister Jean Chretien has
stated that “Canada’s polices on immigration will be developed and
administered by the Canadian government and no other government”. While
this is a strong statement of our sovereignty it also is very clear that
Canada must do much more to end the perception of Canada being an easy
target for international criminals and terrorists – in effect a safe
haven. Canada must implement very stringent controls on undocumented
arrivals, beginning with mandatory detention of those who fail to satisfy
authorities of their true identity and background. The new immigration
Bill C-11 does provide for increased security screening of refugee
claimants and measures to restrict appeals for those facing deportation.
This last measure is welcome considering Canada’s dismal deportation
record of the past - since 1995, more than 20,000 “refugees” are
believed to have slipped through the cracks in the system and most are
believed to be in the U.S.
Another
measure now being fast tracked through the department of Citizenship and
Immigration is the introduction of a “green card” type of photo ID to
be issued to all permanent residents of Canada. It has long been
considered a problem by U.S. Immigration officials that Canada issues
immigrant documents that contain no photos or other means of physically
identifying those persons to whom immigrant visas have been legitimately
issued.
There
are many more issues at hand: cross border commercial traffic – valued
at $1.5 billion per day; border points being staffed by officials of both
countries; harmonized customs pre-clearance procedures and others. Clearly
the most contentious is the proposal to create common entry controls –
this is significant as Canada’s new bill on immigration, C-11, will have
a positive effect on immigration for persons who are educated,
professionally adaptable and have an ability in the English language.
South Asians and Southeast Asians stand to benefit greatly under the new
system as peoples from this region remain the number one source of
immigrants to Canada and are generally regarded as being well educated,
and as most are schooled in English, possess a built in advantage over
potential immigrants from non-English speaking countries.
It
is hoped that our government will not be pressured into significant
changes specific to Bill C-11 as it is now a bill that provides for
additional security measures while recognizing Canada remains a country in
need of skilled immigrants who want to contribute to Canadian society. An
appropriately applied Bill C-11 should also help ensure that potential
immigrants will continue to recognize Canada as a welcoming country that
continues to offer a safe and comfortable lifestyle for themselves and
their families.
|
Labour – Canada in
Desperate Need
High
tech has long garnered all of the attention when it comes
to recruiting foreign skilled labour. This is no different
than most western economies that also have sought out the
best and brightest in the technology fields. Where Canada
differs from some of these other western economies is
it’s acute shortage of skilled construction and trade
labour.
In
addition, to our tradespersons deficit, Canada continues
to face a strong need for senior engineers, systems
analysts and other varied positions in the highly skilled
technology sector.
The
fact is that a skilled worker applying to emigrate to
Canada may take two years or more to be processed and
issued an immigrant visa for Canada is serious impediment
to sourcing skilled labour badly needed by Canadian
industry. The fact is that Canadian governments, past and
present, have amplified this problem and continuously
failed to recognize the acute nature of this problem. As a
result, Canada is now forced to look to foreign economies
to supply the desperately needed skilled labour. Though
India is acknowledged as the world’s premier source of
technology workers, Canada will look to any corner of the
globe to find the personnel needed.
Framing
carpenters and bricklayers are very high on Canada’s
“most desired” list. Construction companies are
praising a federal government proposal to fast-track
thousands of temporary workers into Canada to alleviate
these shortages, but many are lamenting the fact Canadian
governments seem to lack the initiative to put into place
domestic training programs to attack the problem from
within Canada’s borders. Factors working against a
homegrown solution include an ageing workforce and the
poignant issue of traditional trades failing to attract
young people. Most high school graduates, encouraged by
their parents, think only of professional careers in such
fields as medicine, law or becoming a dot-com millionaire.
A
possible solution dictates that Canadian governments, and
associations that represent the construction industry,
must spend time and money to promote the concept that a
career in the trades is a lucrative and Honourable
alternative to a professional career. In addition,
inter-provincial barriers to the free movement of
tradespersons must be addressed. This action, taken in
conjunction with a concerted effort to source qualified
tradespersons from abroad, may be the only approach to
begin to rectify the severe shortage of skilled labour
Canada presently faces, both in the construction and high
tech sectors.
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'Citizenship
and Immigration Canada'
Responds to Natural Disasters
'Citizenship
and Immigration Canada'
(CIC) is committed to a humane, flexible response when
natural disasters abroad affect the relatives of Canadian
citizens and permanent residents. The Department has
developed a response plan that includes several measures
that can be used depending on the nature of the disaster.
CIC staff have sufficient discretion to respond in a
humane manner without needing to resort to special legal
authorities". What this means is that the staff
members at CIC charged with responsibility in these
programs have the authority to make quick decisions regarding who
may be allowed a temporary visit to Canada or whom
may even be eligible for permanent residence in Canada, based
on humanitarian and compassionate circumstances.
This response
process was developed through past experience with
previous disasters - for example, the earthquake
disasters that occurred this year in India and Turkey. In response to disasters, the overseas
efforts include sending staff from the local visa office
(Canadian Consulate General or Canadian Embassy) to
the disaster area to render a decision if the area is safe
for the persons involved in the disaster and CIC staff to
initiate the program in the affected area. The CIC
response team (including Visa Officers) will assess and
prioritize immigrant and visitor visa issuance's on the
basis of those with immediate or close family ties to
Canada, i.e., parents,
children, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces or nephews,
receiving first consideration. Determinations on immigrant
applications will be finalized and the visa issued
immediately, pending a quick review of all circumstances.
The CIC Visa Officers have the authority to exempt
applicants from the full application of the Immigration
Act where there are compelling humanitarian or
compassionate considerations. Visitor visas will
be issued to persons affected by the disaster who are
able to clearly indicate they will leave Canada
at the end of the authorized visit period. Details of
CIC's response will be disseminated to the public
through the CIC Call Centre and the CIC Web site
(http://www.cic.gc.ca). In response
to persons affected by overseas disasters who are in
Canada as visitors, workers and students (those persons in
Canada on a temporary basis) at the time of the disaster,
the Central Processing Centre (CPC) in Vegreville will
evaluate, on a case-by-case basis, persons wishing to
extend their status as visitors in Canada. If the disaster
cuts off their access to funds, international students may
be granted work permits. Canadian citizens and permanent
residents who wish to sponsor immediate family members
residing in a disaster area may do so by obtaining the
necessary forms from the Call Centre or the CIC Web site.
The Case Processing Centre (CPC) in Mississauga will
provide priority processing for these sponsorship
applications. If CPC Mississauga approves the sponsorship,
an application kit will be sent to the sponsor in Canada
to forward to the relative abroad. Persons subject
to removal orders - departure orders, exclusion orders
and/or deportation orders - to
an affected area may be deferred for up to three months or may
be removed to an unaffected area of the country.
This is all subject to the actual conditions in the
affected area and how quickly the area performs the
necessary steps to offer it's residents a safe,
satisfactory mode of living.
*Rick
Howat
Upon completion of economics studies in university, Mr.
Howat thereafter joined the Citizenship and Immigration
department where he acted as a Senior Immigration Officer
and supervisor. After five years of employ with the
Immigration department, pending a one-year hiatus, Mr.
Howat established his own immigration consulting practice.
More recently, Mr. Howat assumed the position of V.P.
Marketing and Development with First Entrepreneur
Enterprises, developing and promoting business immigration
programs in Canada.
Family
Class Sponsorships
The “Family
Class” of immigrants has long been a preferred means to
bring family members to Canada who would otherwise be
ineligible for permanent residence. This “Class” of
immigrants is restricted to spouses, fiancé (s), parents,
grandparents and dependent children. This means that you
cannot sponsor brothers or sisters unless they are
included in a sponsorship of your parents as dependants.
This can include overage (19 years of age or over)
siblings if they have maintained their educational
pursuits on a full time basis – provided no more than a
lapse of one year has occurred during the continuation of
their formal education.
In order to sponsor family members for permanent
residence in Canada within this class, you must meet a
“Low Income Cut Off” (or LICO).
You can find general details at www.cic.gc.ca or
if you wish to go directly to the “Family Class”
website, you can do so at www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigr/index2.html#family.
The LICO amount needed is dependent on the number of
members presently in your family in addition to the number
of the persons sponsored. The sponsor must present an
annual income to immigration authorities i.e. from
employment, interest or investment income etc. The
presentation of “general assets” to demonstrate you
have the financial means to support your sponsored family
members will not be accepted as the Immigration Department
only accepts annual income, as shown on the sponsor’s
Notice of Assessment, issued by the Canada Customs and
Revenue Agency (CCRA).
For many countries of Southeast Asia (India, Singapore,
Malaysia and Taiwan to name a few), Citizenship and
Immigration Canada has initiated a new process or “joint
application package” in an effort to streamline Family
Class sponsorships. The new application package includes a
sponsorship form, an immigrant application form and a
medical form. This sponsorship package is only available
to sponsors in Canada. With this process, the sponsor
sends the application forms to the relative(s)
abroad. The completed application is returned to the
sponsor with all supporting documents. The sponsor will
then submit the application to the Case Processing Centre
in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. To further speed up
processing, the sponsored relative(s) should complete the
medical examination before the application is submitted to
the Case Processing Centre. This new and streamlined
sponsorship process does not apply to children who are to
be adopted.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
states that “half of the applications submitted under
this new process will be randomly selected for appraisal
in Canada”. The applications that are correctly
completed and free of complications will be processed to
visa issuance, within Canada. Applications deemed to
require personal interviews and/or clarifications will be
forwarded to the applicable overseas visa office, thus
incurring a much lengthier processing period. If you are
unsure if your application is properly completed, refer to
your local immigration professional for assistance; it may
save you months of unnecessary delay.
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