The Star - Immigration waiting times cause frustration

I guess I'm not the only person frustrated by long wait times. The people in the article by Nicholas Keung of the Toronto Star, are seeking to bring parents and grandparents into the country. For some overseas applications, the process can take 15-33 months as reported.

But wait - that's AFTER the standard prescreeneing period. And how long does that period last? According to the CIC,there is a 38-month standard prescreening of the sponsors at immigration’s Mississauga processing centre. So now we are talking about wait times ranging from 53 to 71 months.

For those of you without immigration math skills, that's 4-years and 3-months to 5-years 11-months.

It also means at least two medical exams will need to be submitted (they are only good for a year) and other reports, like police clearances, may need to be submitted at least twice.

The Star article is just another tale of a poorly run ministry. What does Jason Kenney have to say about it? “Canadian visa offices from one country to another can vary significantly in regard to the size and nature of their respective workloads and it is impossible to provide the exact same level of service at every visa office,” Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s office wrote in an email to Zhang’s group, according to The Star article.

Nonsense - Kenney could work to insure that the levels of service were comparable at Canadian visa offices. He chooses not to use his budget that way, however. Instead, he uses it for more important things - high profile globetrotting to preach the Tory line on illegal immigration.

The more you know about the current state of the CIC, the less you want to know.

Read the entire article here.

Globe and Mail - Immigrants drive innovation, study finds

Great article in The Globe and Mail clearly illustrates the value of immigrants to the Canadian economy. Look at the simple math:

"Immigrants boost trade. The study’s models show every one-percentage-point increase in the number of immigrants to Canada can increase the value of imports into Canada by 0.21 per cent, and raise the value of exports by 0.11 per cent.

In practical terms, that means that an additional 217 immigrants from Japan could boost annual exports to Japan by more than $11-million. That holds true even with smaller trading partners – if one more Cape Verdean immigrates to Canada, that would increase exports to Cape Verde by about $300."

Read the entire article by Tavia Grant here.

A broken system exposes more cracks

Gerhard Wiebe is separated from his wife thanks to Canadian border agents

Canadian immigration is broken. How can you tell? One way is when a ministry's own personnel doesn't know its policies well enough to offer accurate advice. Another is when the ministry allows front-line workers (like border agents) to usurp authority at the cost of citizens and applicants.

This is just what happened in the case of Maria Eugenia Vazquez Cortes and Gerhard Wiebe, who traveled to Mexico for a family funeral over the summer. They had an open application in process with CIC, and Maria was legally in the country on an extended visitor's visa while the application was being processed. Before they left for the funeral, they checked with CIC to be sure there were no issues associated with leaving the country and coming back. They were told that there were none.

But upon return, Maria was stopped at the border by an agent who would not allow her back in. He didn't "believe" she would leave the country if the couple's application was denied.

What is the impact? It could mean that they will need to completely re-apply again, because Maria is now out of the country and being denied entry. It could mean they will have to fill out new forms again, get new police records checks and new medicals - all the time and expense all over again...not to mention that applications processed through Canada's Mexican visa office can take years - even if they are simple. And until then? They are separated. Their life together is disrupted; their future together is in doubt.

All because a broken system gave them bad advice, and a border agent had the power to derail a perfectly legal and above-board application that was in process.

And that is the tale of a broken system.

Read the whole sad story here.

Centre for Immigration Policy Reform wants Canada for Canadians

A new immigration lobbying group wouldn't normally draw a lot of attention. Like all lobbyists, they represent a position on a particular issue, in this case immigration, and they work to see policy implemented that supports their point of view. But the year-old Centre for Immigration Policy Reform is different for a couple reasons. First off, they are populated by Martin Collacott, a former Canadian ambassador and James Bissett, a former Immigration Department director-general. These are individuals that have played a direct role in determining past immigration policy. Reason two: they are blatantly anti-immigrant.

The Centre wants to scrap current immigration policy, decrying it in a news conference yesterday as one that makes it too easy for individuals to come to Canada through the Family and Refugee class.

An excellent article "New immigration lobby group lacks praxis" by Jim Creskey in Embassy Magazine online lays out the details.

Two sides of the immigrant experience

Great article discussing one Indian family's experience as immigrants to Canada, and how their traditions, along with a dose of high technology, have helped to make their transition smoother.

This story is a great example of how immigrants embrace Canada, while not forgetting their home countries.

Read the article here.

On the other hand: In an editorial published a couple days ago, Star columnist Heather Mallick writes about a kind of immigrant who would rather not be reminded of home... "...some immigrants chose Canada to get the hell away from their homescape and after arrival never gave the old country a second thought. My idea of a perfect evening is walking into a party full of strangers. Some immigrants are like that nationally."

Read Heather's article here.

An immigrant's prayer

I'm a Christian. You probably knew that if you've been reading here for a bit. I thought tonight I would offer up a prayer for all of you who are in the same process I and my love are in - attempting to immigrate to a new land. Maybe you can use it for your own. I hope this prayer is a blessing to you:

Dear Lord, thank you for hearing my prayer. Thank you for every blessing you bring to my days; the ones I can see and the ones I can't. Thank you Lord for placing on my heart the desire to continue my life in a new country. Lord, I know that you order my every step, and I believe you have ordered this one too - that I leave my home and make a new one in a new country. You led the Israelites out of Egypt to a new land, and you have convicted my spirit to do the same. Father, please bless and protect my efforts in this immigration process; please make the way clear for me; please walk with me, because I can't do this alone. Father I ask that you will bless me with a positive outcome to my immigration journey; but I trust in you for whatever result you have planned for me, and that your will always be done in my life. Lord, please bless those that seek the same goal as I do, and bless all those who you have put in power to review and process my application and submissions. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Globe and Mail - "Stop immigration crime at its source"

"Canadians should be well aware of the lengths some people are willing to go to forge a better life: the harrowing trans-Pacific journey by Tamil refugee claimants made that clear. So Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is right to go directly to source countries in the fight against scam marriages, unscrupulous immigration consultants and human smugglers. Indeed, it will take a government-wide strategy, domestically and internationally, to combat the crime and fraud associated with the journey immigrants make to Canada, and Canada can’t do it alone."

Read about Jason Kenney's globetrotting on behalf of immigration fraud here.

Humidity

It's been humid in Seattle, which is unusual for September. If you're from this part of the country you understand that while it is rainy here (not as much as you might think), it's rarely humid. So these last few days have been odd that way and with the humidity I am once again missing my home in Toronto with my love. Toronto is humid. I can see in my mind's eye and feel with my memory the warm damp mornings walking across College St. to get a coffee. I can see the fog of humidity blur the horizon as I drive the Gardiner out of town, around the Golden Horseshoe to Niagara. Humidity and the mist of memory - they sort of go hand in hand. Do you think maybe God is conditioning me for my return to Toronto? I think tonight I'll believe that's exactly what's going on. It's 10pm here; it's raining; it's near 21C outside. I want to go home.

Expat Arrivals - A great resource for potential immigrants

If you're just getting started in your journey from your home country to Canada as an immigrant, I suggest that you check out Expat Arrivals. This site provides a solid overview of what to expect when moving to Canada. The site does a good job in helping expats get a grip on the core issues of living and working in Canada, with content provided my experts with detailed knowledge of issues like health care, finding a job, tax planning, housing and more. Check out their info on Canada, and their detailed guides to Toronto And Vancouver.

Is Canada obligated to welcome immigrants?

Dow Marmur, in a September 6 editorial in the Toronto Star, wrote:

"Canada has often been welcoming to newcomers, including refugees. The positive reception of the Vietnamese boat people in the 1970s comes to mind. But it hasn’t always been consistent. Writing about the ship of Tamil refugees that reached our shores recently, Professor Michael Byers of the University of British Columbia refers to two tragic instances when Canada turned away people in similar circumstances."

Read the entire editorial, "Our duty to welcome strangers" here