By Atty. Henry Moyal
NEW IMMIGRATION MINISTER MAY GIVE HOPE FOR MANY
For those who have followed the roller coaster ride of immigration changes in the last few years may feel a relief nowadays. In a surprise move by the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr. Harper has shuffled his cabinet and has removed Jason Kenney from his post as federal immigration minister. Even if you are not an avid reader of immigration news, it is likely that you have heard of the Mr. Kenney as he has had a habit of changing immigration rules without notice and with crucial consequences. Let’s take a quick look at a sample of what he has done: he has eliminated the backlog of applications and unilaterally closed 280,000 applications; he cancelled the sponsorship of parents; reducing dependant children to the age of 18; cancelled the business entrepreneur and investor programs; introduced a quota system for new immigrants; restrict skilled worker program to only 24 occupations; increase spousal sponsorship processing times to nearly 2 years and closed embassies and consulates around the world.
If there is any light at the end of the tunnel, I suppose one can say that the new minister can’t make things worse. There is however optimism that the new federal minister will be more sympathetic to immigrants and allow more immigrants to Canada. The person in question is Chris Alexander. Chris Alexander worked for 18 years as a member of the Canadian Foreign Services. His first posting was at the Canadian Embassy in Russia, and by 2003, he became Canada’s first resident Ambassador in Kabul, Afghanistan. Between 2005 and 2009, he served as a Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
With a background caring for immigrants worldwide and recently published book entitled, A Long Way Back: Afghanistan’s Quest for Peace it seems evident that the new federal immigration minister Chris Alexander will once again put Canada on the international map as the number one destination for immigrants.
Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed Canadian 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 Henry Moyal by or email canada@moyal.comOr call 416 733 3193.
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