A plan by Ottawa to crackdown on newcomers who use arranged marriages to fraudulently come to Canada has drawn a mixed reaction from community groups.

The proposal will affect members of the Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and other communities who bring spouses to Canada through arranged marriages, according to immigration officials. The government has maintained the proposed measures are not designed to affect genuine applicants ­ only those who use arranged marriages as a guise to gain entry into the country.

“These marriages cause a great deal of anxiety and should be strictly regulated,” said Tarek Fatah, of the Muslim Canadian Congress. “They cause a great deal of problems in the community.”

He said arranged marriages that fail can lead to domestic abuse or other dangerous situations for a spouse.

“We welcome this move to enforce the policy,” Fatah said. “The Canadian citizenship is not for sale.”

Under the proposal, immigration officers will conduct more thorough background checks of applicants.

Omar Farouk, president of the International Muslims Organization, noted while some Muslims pursue arranged marriages, others do not.

“The cultural practice has been going on for a long time in some parts of the world,” Farouk said. “This is not something new in Canada.”

Federal immigration spokesman Kelli Fraser said the proposals are required to clarify exiting rules.

“The intent of the proposed regulations is to provide visa officers with a better tool in order to protect the immigration system from non-genuine marriages,” Fraser said on Monday by e-mail.

Toronto immigration lawyer Mendel Green said he’s been told that 3,000 files are under investigation for suspected marriage fraud.

“There is a suspicion of high abuse of the marriage process to come to Canada,” Green said. “This hurts innocent immigrants who are all suspected of rampant fraud.”

Toronto lawyer Guidy Mamann said the increased checks will make it harder for everyone trying to sponsor an arranged marriage spouse.

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Police are investigating allegations of fraud at dozens of immigration consultancies across the country, according to government and law enforcement sources.

The probes target unlicensed and unscrupulous immigration consultants who trade in helping foreigners establish themselves in Canada.

While many consultants provide a legitimate service to immigrants, there are mounting concerns about illegal and unethical activity, leading to calls for sweeping regulatory reform.

In Quebec, for example, an immigration consultancy was accused last year of running a multimillion-dollar scheme to establish Canadian residency for citizenship applicants living abroad and illegally profiting from false tax rebates. Another Quebec immigration consultant was recently convicted of fraud for his role in smuggling a Moroccan immigrant into Canada. And a Vancouver immigration consultant was convicted of fraud and dealing in forged documents.

The RCMP investigation of as many as 300 citizenship applicants claiming the same Mississauga address, which The Globe and Mail first reported on Monday, is just one of many similar investigations currently under way, sources say.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney vowed to crack down on immigration consultants this week. But NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow said the minister has promised reform for more than a year and has yet to deliver.

“He said he would do it. He didn’t do it,” Ms. Chow said.

A spokesman for Mr. Kenney said more detailed proposals will be unveiled in the months ahead, adding that “too much is at stake” to make reform a partisan issue.

Ms. Chow said her office sees too many tragic examples of prospective immigrants being ripped off by “ghost” consultants, who provide advice they know is of no use, that’s often fraudulent, and amounts to stealing between $2,000 and $5,000 from a prospective immigration applicant.

The current system of regulating immigration consultants is completely ineffective and needs to be dismantled, Ms. Chow said. The Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants was established in 2003, but membership is voluntary and enforcement amounts to a slap on the wrist, she said.

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At the present time, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Canada (CIMC) plans to maintain its 2009 immigration numbers of between 240,000 to 265,000 new Permanent Residents.  This makes it one of the only developed nations that has not contracted its immigration plans in the face of current global economic turmoil.

However, that may change by the end of March, once Minister Kenney meets with federal, provincial, and territorial officials to review economic data and to determine if modifications to immigration levels are needed.

“We don’t want people coming to Canada and facing unemployment.  We need to be sensitive to the changing labour market, and if we need to make modifications, we will,” stated Minister Kenney.

Taking a longer-term perspective, he has expressed his preference to maintain current levels, noting that immigrants will be greatly needed to help fuel Canada’s economic growth once the economy turns around.

“We need to be flexible, prudent and ensure that our response to short-term conditions does not counter out long-term goals, in which immigration will play a significant role,” he said.  “We don’t want to turn off the tap of the future growth that is represented by immigration.”

The Immigration Minister has the authority to make changes to the immigration selection system without any advance warning.  In this case, he has signaled that an imminent reduction of immigration targets is a real possibility.

If you would like to immigrate to Canada, you should take the Immigration Minister’s words seriously.  Now is the time to submit your Canadian immigration application.  After the Immigration Minister’s meeting at the end of March, it may become more difficult for you to qualify or it may take you longer to realize your plans to come live and work in Canada.

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When the 2010 Winter Olympic Games start in Vancouver on Feb. 12, they not only will draw athletes from across the globe but legions of citizens from the USA ­ all of whom will need to present newly required forms of identification to cross the border.

In anticipation of that, and in the face of criticism of the increased documentation requirements and costs for cross-border travel that went into effect last June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has launched a $2 million marketing campaign to remind people in the Northwest about identification options for border crossings.

Last month, the department began targeting Washington, Idaho and Oregon with radio, television, print and Internet ads, said Joanne Ferreira, public affairs officer with Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection office.

The ads, featuring Olympians such as skier Bill Demong, include reminders that identity documentation will be required to return to the USA and direct people to GetYouHome.gov, a Homeland Security travel website, to find out about the various document options, several of which are less expensive than obtaining a passport.

The Olympics-centered campaign is part of an ongoing effort by Homeland Security to publicize ways of crossing the border in light of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative rules, which since June 1 have required American citizens to have a passport, passport card or enhanced driver’s license or to be enrolled in a trusted traveler program such as NEXUS and SENTRI (for frequent travelers to Canada and Mexico respectively) or FAST (for commercial drivers) in order to get back into the USA from Canada or Mexico.

The change also began requiring Canadians to have a passport, enhanced driver’s license or trusted traveler program card for getting into the USA. It did not change the similar documentation Mexican citizens already were required to show.

Some business owners who depend on customers crossing the border have been hurt by the tougher crossing rules.

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Temporary residents seeking work permits or an extension of their visit in Canada can now apply online, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“Extending our online services to more temporary residents will significantly facilitate the application process by providing faster, more accessible and efficient services,” said Minister Kenney.

Forms submitted by mail often need to be returned because they are incomplete, adding additional time to the process. Applications online can only be submitted if they are complete, thereby contributing to faster processing. The service is open to all temporary residents except for co-op program work permit applicants.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) intends to make all types of applications available online in the future.

CIC first began offering online applications in June 2008, international students studying in Canada being the first to have access. Since then, international students have submitted close to 33,000 online applications. International students at over 200 participating educational institutions have been able to apply online for an off-campus work permit, confirm their eligibility online and renew their study permit while in Canada. They can also use our online services to apply for or extend the status of their dependent family members currently living in Canada.

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According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s 2009 Annual Report, Canada is actually maintaining its immigration levels to meet the country’s medium- to long-term economic needs.

While other countries have cut back immigration levels as a short-term response to the global economic downturn, Canada is actually maintaining its immigration levels. Despite the economic downturn, Canada still needs foreign workers to fill shortages in some regions and professions. The focus of the 2010 plan is on economic immigration to support Canada’s economy during and beyond the current economic recovery.

Canada plans to accept between 240,000 and 265,000 new permanent residents immigrants in 2010, the same number of immigrants as in recent years. In 2010, Canada will again welcome more new permanent residents than the average annual intake during the 1990s.

In particular, the admission ranges for immigrants nominated by the provinces and territories have been increased. Provinces and territories are in the best position to understand how Canada’s immigration intake can be aligned to their labour market needs. Second, by increasing the admission ranges in the Provincial Nominee Program, the Government of Canada is helping to ensure that the benefits of immigration are distributed across this country. Canada and the provinces will work together to manage growth in the provincial nominee program. Increasing the total number of immigrants processed under the economic category will also allow CIC to continue reducing the backlog of federal skilled worker applicants as part of the Action Plan for Faster Immigration.

“The Government of Canada will continue to work with provinces, territories and stakeholders to make sure immigration meets the needs of communities, employers and families now and in the future,” said Minister Kenney, Canadian Immigration Minister.

Improving the federal skilled worker program is part of the Government of Canada’s overall commitment to modernizing the immigration system to maximize its contribution to our overall economic growth. In 2008, as part of the Action Plan for Faster Immigration, the Government of Canada made changes to the way we select skilled workers. Applicants in the federal skilled worker category must now meet a set of eligibility criteria before they can be processed. The criteria correspond to Canada’s economic immigration needs. If applicants don’t meet the criteria, they are not processed and their application fees are refunded.

The changes were made to meet three main goals:

1. Reduce the backlog of applicants in the federal skilled worker category
2. Reduce wait times
3. Improve labour market responsiveness

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has made significant progress toward meeting these goals since the first set of eligibility criteria was issued on November 28, 2008.

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The UN’s verdict is in: Canadians have the fourth-best quality of life in the world, behind top-rated Norway, Australia and Iceland.

And Canada again surpasses the wealthier United States, which has slid from 12th to 13th place between 2006 and 2007, the last year for which international data was tabulated. Canada’s position is unchanged since 2006.

The figures are tallied by the United Nations Development Program’s annual Human Development Index, which analyzes the statistics of 182 countries.

“It shows that development can be measured not just through output or economic growth,” said David Morrison, executive secretary of the UN’s Capital Development Fund. “Because of Canada’s well-developed social systems it traditionally scores at the top of the table.”

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Canadian immigration officials in foreign countries have often refused visitor visas to people wanting to come to Canada.
The arbitrary process has often resulted in many genuine visitors being denied entry. Cases, where relatives who intend to come to Canada for weddings, funerals or religious meetings have come to light. Often, unsuccessful applicants have been left with no recourse.
New Democratic Party (NDP) immigration critic Olivia Chow (Triinity-Spadina, Ontario) and Victoria, BC, MP Denies Savoie are demanding changes to the approval process.
“Denying entry to people who simply wish to celebrate at weddings or remember loved ones at funerals, with no reasonable explanations is cruel not only to them, but also to their friends and families,” said Chow.

Savoie recounted a recent case in which eleven Burmese participants in an annual Anglican faith exchange were refused visitors’ visas, in spite of a commitment by the Anglican Diocese of BC and a 12-year record of all participants returning home without incident. Savoie appealed directly to the Minister’s office but was refused.

“If the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration is unwilling to take the word of Canadian church officials about a group of priests with unbreakable ties to their home parishes, then what hope does an ordinary citizen have in sponsoring their family member to visit Canada?” asked Savoie.

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Punjabi is set to become the fourth largest spoken language in Canada by 2011 after English, French and Chinese, according to Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

The minister made the announcement Friday night after inaugurating the seventh Spinning Wheel Film Festival at the Royal Ontario Museum here that will feature films by or about Sikhs.

More than two dozen films from around the world will be screened at the two-day festival.

Before opening the event, the minister unveiled two huge portraits of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his son Duleep Singh. These portraits will now be permanently displayed at the museum.

Lauding the contribution made by Sikhs to the Canadian society, the minister said they have thrived after their initial struggles and made a place for themselves in Canada.

The 2006 census showed that Punjabi is the sixth largest spoken language after English, French, Chinese, Italian and German in Canada. But it is projected to surpass German and Italian by 2011.

Referring to the 1914 incident when more than 350 passengers from India – Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus – were not allowed to disembark from the Komagata Maru ship and sent back to Kolkata, the minister said Canada has recognized its racist past and apologized for it.

Toronto-based philanthropist and physician Birinder Singh Ahluwalia, the brain behind the festival, said the aim was to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Sikhs.

The Amritsar-born doctor, among most successful 25 Canadian immigrants, said the organisers received more than 120 film entries from around the world.

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Last month, the Bank of Canada declared that the recession in Canada was effectively over. This week, there have been more reports that the Canadian economy is growing.

Statistics Canada (StatsCan) has reported that in August, the private sector created more than 27,000 jobs, and has said that the Canadian job market has been improving since April.

StatsCan also reported that the Gross Domestic Product in Canada grew in June, for the first time in 11 months. Canada’s major banks are reporting profits in the third quarter of 2009, another sign that the economy is recovering.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the federal housing agency, said that the housing market is expected to rebound over the last few months of 2009.

Analysts are saying that all of the above are positive signs, showing not only that Canada is recovering from the economic downturn, but that its economy is also expected to grow.

“The upturn in June GDP, the swift snapback in housing amid rebounding consumer confidence, and a stabilizing U.S. economy all suggest that Canada’s recession is indeed ending,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, a leading financial services provider.