By Atty. Henry Moyal
CANADA’S NEW PRIME MINISTER IMMIGRATION TOP TEN LIST
Canada has a new prime minister – Justin Trudeau. The last few months of his campaign saw him leap in the polls and drastically overshadow the Conservative party to defeat Stephen Harper. While prime minister-designate Trudeau has the past family experience to fall back on (his father was the late Pierre E. Trudeau), many wonder what he has in store for this great country. With little experience in politics, it is somewhat of a surprise that the Liberal party won with a majority of seats – perhaps a testament that the citizens of Canada want change. And it seems a change they will get. When Trudeau is sworn in as the new
prime minister of Canada he has already unleashed a slew of new initiatives when it comes to immigration. Some good and some bad but only time will tell if this ex-teacher really knows what he is doing and whether his actions are really in the best interests of Canada economically, socially and internationally.
Trudeau in his election speeches has claimed that Canada’s future success is driven by attracting talented people from around the world and that the immigration system must be efficient as it is critical to Canada’s long term economic growth. While this soundsnice on paper, we will need to see how this implemented. When the Conservatives tool power, this led to a backlog of 300,000 applicants which were then tossed out when staff could not keep up with demand. Harper’s new express entry is flawed and admittedly needs a fix. There is no easy answer but one thing is for certain. Trudeau is pro-immigration and he has promiseddrastic change. Here is a look at his top ten wish list:
1. Intake of 25,000 Syrian refugees in 2015. Really? There are only two months left in the year. How will it be possible to safely bring 25,000 displaces refugees to our shores and making sure these individuals are identified and screened properly? Most refugees expelled from their country do not have proper identification. How do we know if these people are part of the government? Rebels? ISIS? Etc…. proper background checks must be conducted so we do not regret this in years to come. The figure of 25, 000 in two months is not only unrealistic but naïve on the part of Trudeau. That number is more than the total of refugees landed in Canada in all of 2013/2014.
2. Fully Restore Interim Federal Health Program: Who will pay these extra costs? It seems Trudeau, will be taking from the rich by increasing taxes to those who earn more to pay for the rest of the country.
3. Increase Child Age for Dependants: This is the correct decision and really a flaw of the past Conservatives. Trudeau will restore the age of children to under 22 from the current under 19 allowing Canadians, especially live in caregivers to bring their children to Canada.
4. Immediate Permanent Residence for Spouses: Granting immediate permanent residency to new spouses entering Canada, rather than imposing a two year conditional status that puts spouses in a vulnerable position.
5. Repeal Bill C-24: Harper in a sense made two classes of Canadian Citizens by allowing those who have a second
citizenship vulnerable to deportation for terrorist crimes. Trudeau will repeal those unfair elements.
6. Restore Residency time on Citizenship Applications: Currently foreign students do not get any credit for time spent in Canada before being an immigrant on their Citizenship application. Trudeau will re-instate the old rules giving students 50% of the time as credit.
7. Double the amount of Parents to be Sponsored: Current cap is 5000. Trudeau will increase the number to 10,000.
8. Double the Budget for Family Class Immigration:. Currently it takes years to sponsor a spouse or parent to Canada due to a backlog of applications. Trudeau anticipates that by doubling the budget he will restore processing times to reasonable time frames.
9. Eliminate the $1000 for LMIA for Caregivers: employers seeking to hire a foreign worker will not need to pay the processing fee of $1000 when seeking to hire a caregiver to care for a family with disabilities.
10. Regulate Nanny Agencies: Trudeau is seeking to develop a system of regulated companies to hire caregivers on behalf of families and to enable caregivers to change employers easily.
Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario.The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document.Send questions to Attorney Moyal by email canada@moyal.com or call 416 733 3193
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