Tories could tighten immigration rules

[styky]

Tories could tighten immigration rules

By Daniel Proussalidis, Parliamentary Bureau

Last Updated: April 16, 2012 6:48pm

OTTAWA - Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has confirmed that his officials are keeping note of legal practices in other countries that would be considered crimes in Canada to help further screen potential immigrants down the road.

"We want to be able to assess whether people applying for immigration into Canada should be inadmissible, but are not," Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said in Winnipeg on Monday.

He said he doesn't like that immigrants who beat their wives or carry weapons, for instance, can slip into Canada simply because those actions are legal in their home countries and so they carry no criminal record, which would be easily seen on an application.

"In some countries spousal abuse is not a crime," Kenney said. "In some countries, so-called honour killings aren't really treated as a crime."

QMI Agency reported last week that immigration authorities have asked officers posted abroad to collect information on such practices for a criteria review scheduled to end later this year.

An instruction sent from Ottawa last summer asked foreign-posted officers to give a priority to things like domestic abuse, polygamy, carrying a concealed weapon, and the cultivation and marketing of the drug khat.

Immigration lawyer Richard Kurland says he believes the information gleaned from the exercise would be used to better filter immigration applications.

Kenney confirmed that.

"We want to make sure that the people we admit to Canada are going to respect our laws - first and foremost the equality of men and women - and that they've not engaged in violent practices in a country where that might be legal," Kenney said.

- files from from Nicole Dube
http://www.lfpress.com/news/canada/2012 ... 40176.html

[styky]

If the Manitoba government thinks that they are doing such a fantastic job that no one can touch what they are doing then why is it that the major portion of the funding for it is from Ottawa. Put your money where you're mouth is. If you want full control of something then at lease have the decency to pay for it. I have no problem with Ottawa taking control of something that they are responsible for paying for. Greg Selinger is an idiot.


Manitoba politicians spar over immigration changes

A war of words took place at the Manitoba legislature this afternoon between the NDP government, which is fighting to keep the provincial nominee program, and the Tories.
Some of the 100 to 150 people who came to the Manitoba legislature on Thursday afternoon to protest changes to the provincial nominee program.Some of the 100 to 150 people who came to the Manitoba legislature on Thursday afternoon to protest changes to the provincial nominee program. (Katie Nicholson/CBC)

Immigration Minister Christine Melnick stood in the legislature following question period and demanded that the federal government reverse its decision to cancel its shared settlement services agreement with the province.

Without funding from that agreement, Manitoba's Provincial Nominee Program is dead, according to the province.

The program is a national strategy meant to help skilled workers and entrepreneurs from other countries gain permanent resident status in Canada more quickly.

Until now, the program had been administered by Manitoba but funded by Ottawa.

Ottawa's decision to cancel its funding agreement was announced earlier this month, around the same time as a wave of federal budget cuts that included relocating the federal Citizenship and Immigration Department office in Winnipeg to Calgary.

The public chamber at the legislature was packed with supporters of the Provincial Nominee Program on Thursday afternoon.

Another 150 people couldn't get into the gallery and are standing in the rotunda. Many of them say they have taken part in the provincial nominee program..........http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2 ... itoba.html

[styky]

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2012/04/16/k ... nt-support

Kenney slams NDP's immigrant support

By Kevin Engstrom ,Winnipeg Sun

First posted: Monday, April 16, 2012 07:12 PM CDT | Updated: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 09:11 AM CDT

If the provincial nominee program is as important to Manitoba’s economic well-being as the Selinger government says it is, the province should have made it more of a budgetary priority.

That’s the word from Jason Kenney, Canada’s immigration minister. He said federal support for immigrant settlement services — such as language classes and job training — has increased in the past dozen years from $3 million to $36 million. In that same time, Manitoba’s support for settlement services has remained relatively stagnant, at slightly more than $1 million.

“We’ve walked the talk. We’ve put our money where our mouth is,” said Kenney, who visited Winnipeg on Monday. “We’ve demonstrated through our investment that these services matter to us, while Manitoba has seen its share of settlement service funding shrink to 3%.

“I think that speaks volumes about who really prioritizes these services.”

Kenney’s jab comes less than a week after the federal government killed a decade-old deal with the province for settlement services, citing the need to maintain a consistent immigration recruitment program nation-wide. Premier Greg Selinger delivered a stinging public rebuke in response, claiming the feds were attempting to destroy a very successful nominee program that has brought more than 100,000 immigrants to Manitoba since its inception in the 1990s.

Christine Melnick, the NDP’s immigration minister, met with Kenney on Monday afternoon. She said she told Kenney he had it all wrong. In addition to the $1.7 million the province gives for settlement services for immigrants, it also provides $20 million in funding for immigrants through numerous other government departments.

“This is an example of the confusion that can occur when unilateral, non-collaborative decisions are on an agreement as important as this,” said Melnick.

— With files from Nicole Dube

[styky]

Here's how Manitoba's NDP deals things.......... disgraceful.

Manitoba bureaucrat's email may have pressured workers, but did not break rules

By: Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG - Manitoba government workers and immigrant groups who received a controversial email from a senior bureaucrat suggesting they attend a debate may have felt undue pressure, but the email did not constitute a violation of opposition rights, legislature Speaker Daryl Reid ruled Thursday.

Reid has rejected a complaint from the Opposition Progressive Conservatives stemming from a debate on immigration last week. Hundreds of immigrants and government-funded non-profit agency workers filled the public gallery to show support for a government motion that criticized federal changes to immigration programs.

The Tories cried foul because the immigration department's assistant deputy minister, Ben Rempel, had sent out an email the previous day, suggesting agency workers and immigrants feel free to take the afternoon off to watch the debate. The Tories filed a complaint, alleging the NDP was politicizing the civil service and pressuring immigrants to support the government.

"Whether that was indeed an abuse of power will no doubt be an item of debate between members, but it is not a violation of parliamentary privilege," Reid said in his ruling.

"It was contended that some of the government staff who received the communication ... felt intimidated. This could be the case, however, it must be noted that government staff are not protected by parliamentary privilege."

The Tories' complaint was a point of privilege — an allegation that the government's action inhibited the opposition's ability to do its job. The email does not fall under the category of a point of privilege, Reid ruled.

The Tories said the government won on a technicality and stood by their accusation.

"(Rempel) gave permission and, in fact, encouraged people to leave their jobs to come down to the legislature," Tory House leader Mavis Taillieu said.

But the NDP's house leader said Rempel was simply responding to requests from immigrant groups for information.

"People consistently communicate what's happening in the legislature. I certainly don't expect my constituents to read the order paper and know when something that they might be interested in is happening," NDP House leader Jennifer Howard said.

The controversy over last Thursday's debate shows no sign of fading. Shortly before the Speaker's ruling, the Tories filed another complaint, alleging the NDP stacked the public gallery with supporters that day and prevented opposition supporters from getting in.

"One of our staff went to security and requested some 25 passes to the gallery for our guests from the public," Taillieu said.

"She was rewarded with those 25 passes, and yet within approximately 10 minutes, a staff person from security phoned her and said that they would have to get those passes back."

The government said it too had passes to the public gallery revoked, because security wanted passes available for the general public.

"We had been given 40 passes for security that day and then they came and asked for them back," Howard said.

The legislature Speaker is expected to rule on the latest complaint next week.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ ... 06445.html

[fourhorses]

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has confirmed that his officials are keeping note of legal practices in other countries that would be considered crimes in Canada to help further screen potential immigrants down the road.

Way to go, Jason

Where the f**** have you and your department been for the last six years since taking power
You want an applause or a medal or something?


IT IS WHAT YOU ARE PAID TO DO !!!!!!!!

Enough bullsh**t

[styky]

Why Bill C-31 Must Be Rejected: An open letter to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney

By Harald Bauder, Nathalie Des Rosiers, Avvy Go and Winnie Ng, For Postmedia News April 25, 2012

Dear Minister: Canadians are proud of their country's tradition of providing protection for those in need. Bill C-31, Protecting Canada's Immigration System, however, contradicts this tradition.

The bill protects no one and threatens many. It treats asylum seekers as criminals rather than people who need our protection. It is discriminatory, conflicts with Canadians' sense of fairness, and violates the fundamental rights guaranteed to all people by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In particular, bill C-31 would give the minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism the power to ``designate'' a group of refugees - including women and youths - who can be jailed for up to 12 months without any judicial review. These individuals can be released only at the minister's pleasure or when their refugee status is determined.

This type of discrimination is an obvious violation of the charter protection against arbitrary detention and creates a ``second class'' of refugees.

Other changes proposed are equally worrisome: The minister would be able to create a list of ``safe countries'', assuming the residents of these countries cannot possibly suffer persecution, therefore denying refugees from these countries refugee status without appeal. One can easily imagine how economic or political objectives might influence the minister's determination of whether a country is safe or not. For very good reasons, international law requires an individualized process for refugee determination and not a group assessment based on second-hand knowledge.

Furthermore, the bill would impose a tight timeline (15 days) for filing claims, rendering it unlikely that refugees will get legal advice or assemble the evidence needed to support their claims. This process will increase the likelihood that genuine refugees will be turned away and sent back to danger.

Moreover, the bill would impose a one-year ban on unsuccessful claimant to apply for permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Yet, the bill would not stop the government from deporting the person in the meantime.

The bill would even give the minister the right to revoke the permanent resident status of genuine refugees, simply because the minister believes the conditions have changed for the better in their country of origin. This practice would defeat the purpose of permanent residency, which should be - well - permanent. Rather than encouraging refugees to make a claim, the bill would instead encourage them to move underground.

These circumstances are worrying signs Canada is rolling back the rights of refugees. In recent years, we have seen other regressive measures, including the increase of temporary migration, the erosion of family class immigration, and the treatment of immigration as a mere economic utility. Bill C-31 is another step towards creating an immigration and refugee system that divides immigrants into desirables and undesirables, and that puts the rights of some above others.

The bill would also end up hurting vulnerable and marginalized people the most, including women fleeing gender-based persecution, refugees fleeing discrimination based on their sexual orientation, and anyone who has linguistic barriers and little knowledge of the Canadian legal system. The bill would make these claimants easy prey for unscrupulous immigration consultants.

When putting forward the bill, you have said that there are bogus refugees in Canada and harsh measures are necessary since other countries have them too. However, incarceration policies have proven to be counterproductive, cause further trauma to people, delay the integration of refugees into society, and are particularly costly. Furthermore, the bill will not stop human smuggling. Refugee claimants leave their country because they are desperate. And desperate people take desperate measures. Smugglers will find other ways of circumventing the law, while refugees will be the ones being punished.

What this bill does accomplish, however, is to give you and your successors more powers without the necessary judicial oversight.

Rather than addressing problems of abuse and human smuggling, the bill would politicize refugee and immigration decisions.

Despite Canada's proud tradition of protecting refugees, the country has not always been generous with those in need of protection. Canada imposed a Head Tax and an Exclusion Act on the Chinese immigrants, turned away the Komagata Maru ship in 1914 and its Indian asylum seekers, refused immigration to African American farmers, incarcerated Ukrainians and later Italian and Japanese Canadians, and denied entry to the Saint Louis in 1939 (900 Jewish people were returned to Europe and concentration camps). Your government has seen fit to redress these historical wrongs and, in doing so, pledged to never again commit the same error. Yet, by passing this bill, it would seem that we have yet to learn the painful lessons of our history.

A plaque in 2050, commemorating the victims of bill C-31, will not suffice.

We therefore ask you, respectfully, to immediately withdraw bill C-31.

Signatories

Harald Bauder, Director, Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement

Nathalie Des Rosiers, General Counsel, Canadian Civil Liberties Association

Avvy Go, Clinic Director, Metro Toronto and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic

Winnie Ng, CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice & Democracy, Ryerson University

http://www.canada.com/Bill+Must+Rejecte ... story.html

[drummer]

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has confirmed that his officials are keeping note of legal practices in other countries that would be considered crimes in Canada to help further screen potential immigrants down the road.

Way to go, Jason

Where the f**** have you and your department been for the last six years since taking power
You want an applause or a medal or something?


IT IS WHAT YOU ARE PAID TO DO !!!!!!!!

Enough bullsh**t

He has initiated more reforms and positive changes at the Citizenship and Immigration department over the past six years than had been done in the 30 years before him. His more recent proposal is a complete overhaul of the Canadian immigration system into a sponsorship system similar to the US; something that might finally work. He has fixed the problem of parents/grandparents visas (eliminating the immigration option but giving them the option of long term temporary visa). He is practically the only member of this government who IS doing his job.

[fourhorses]

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has confirmed that his officials are keeping note of legal practices in other countries that would be considered crimes in Canada to help further screen potential immigrants down the road.

Way to go, Jason

Where the f**** have you and your department been for the last six years since taking power
You want an applause or a medal or something?


IT IS WHAT YOU ARE PAID TO DO !!!!!!!!

Enough bullsh**t

He has initiated more reforms and positive changes at the Citizenship and Immigration department over the past six years than had been done in the 30 years before him. His more recent proposal is a complete overhaul of the Canadian immigration system into a sponsorship system similar to the US; something that might finally work. He has fixed the problem of parents/grandparents visas (eliminating the immigration option but giving them the option of long term temporary visa). He is practically the only member of this government who IS doing his job.

put lipstick on a pig and what do you have .....

[styky]

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has confirmed that his officials are keeping note of legal practices in other countries that would be considered crimes in Canada to help further screen potential immigrants down the road.

Way to go, Jason

Where the f**** have you and your department been for the last six years since taking power
You want an applause or a medal or something?


IT IS WHAT YOU ARE PAID TO DO !!!!!!!!

Enough bullsh**t

He has initiated more reforms and positive changes at the Citizenship and Immigration department over the past six years than had been done in the 30 years before him. His more recent proposal is a complete overhaul of the Canadian immigration system into a sponsorship system similar to the US; something that might finally work. He has fixed the problem of parents/grandparents visas (eliminating the immigration option but giving them the option of long term temporary visa). He is practically the only member of this government who IS doing his job.

Exactly. If only we had a dozen Jason Kenneys

[styky]

Here's how Manitoba's NDP deals things.......... disgraceful.

Manitoba bureaucrat's email may have pressured workers, but did not break rules

By: Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG - Manitoba government workers and immigrant groups who received a controversial email from a senior bureaucrat suggesting they attend a debate may have felt undue pressure, but the email did not constitute a violation of opposition rights, legislature Speaker Daryl Reid ruled Thursday............

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ ... 06445.html

More on this............

Manitoba's immigration minister unable to say who received controversial email
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ ... 41325.html

[Brown envelope]

He is practically the only member of this government who IS doing his job.

Count me in for giving him a medal.