August 10, 2010

By Marten Youssef and Ian Bailey
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

John Leeburn, a spokesman for Maple Ridge, said wardens at the Fraser Regional Corrections Centre and the Alouette 

Correctional Centre for Women have told district officials that the RCMP and Canadian Border Services would likely be 

boarding the ship offshore mid-week, and that the vessel would be taken to Victoria as its first port of call. An expected 

100 men would then be taken to the Fraser centre, which is the jail for men, while 80 women would be taken to Alouette. 

It is not clear where any children will be taken, he said. Mr. Leeburn said the briefing from corrections officials suggests 

the Tamil migrants will be at the jails for at least two to four months of processing. "We're told this out of a good neighbour 

policy because the prisons have been here for a while and there's a good working relationship between us and them," he said.

Passengers aboard the ship are fleeing after the end of a civil war in Sri Lanka. Some security experts worry that the ship 

may be carrying high-ranking members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a banned terrorist organization in Canada. 

Canadian officials have not commented about the ship's passengers or when the ship may be intercepted. A spokesman for 

B.C. Corrections said the facilities would be able to handle migrants, recalling that 76 Tamils from another ship, the Ocean 

Lady, were housed last year in Maple Ridge. Many are now living in Toronto, pending refugee hearings. "The custody of 

migrants is something we have dealt with a number of times in the past decade. I think it's something we have shown 

we're able to do, and can respond quickly and effectively," Jess Gunnarson said in an interview. "[We] are certainly 

committed to our federal partners in terms of providing that service."

Mr. Gunnarson said privacy and security directives limit his ability to comment further. "A number of the operational 

decisions that need to be made with the arrival of such a ship or once such a ship has arrived really can't be made until 

that time because they are based on the number of individuals, the demographics of those individuals and their backgrounds." 

Navy ships or an RCMP vessel will likely make first contact with the Sun Sea upon arrival in Canadian waters, after which 

the vessel will likely be boarded and then escorted to dock. The vessel is expected to taken to the Ogden Point terminal in 

Victoria, which is where officials took the last ship.

Richard Kurland, immigration policy analyst and lawyer, said tuberculosis and dehydration could be major h

ealth issues considering the vessel has been at sea since May.

Bob Barlow, general manager of Western Stevedoring, which operates Ogden Point, said Tuesday that the company has 

not been contacted by government officials about the arrival of the ship. Gray Line, the bus company used last October to 

help transport migrants, said no request has been made to stand ready in the event the vessel arrives. "We were only 

given one hour notice last year for two buses," said a dispatcher, who asked not to be named.

 

 

 

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100808/bc_deportation_100808/20100808?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

CTV NEWS

 

 

Dat 

 

Family pleads to stop stepfather's deportation

 

Vowing not to cave to the "enemies of reform," Immigration Minister Jason Kenney proposed $540 million worth of new measures Tuesday to overhaul the system for dealing with refugee claims from foreigners who arrive on Canadian soil. Kenney said the  changes, once implemented, will cut the time it takes for a refugee claimant to get a hearing to two months from the current 19 and reduce to about two years from the average 4½ years it now takes to evict a rejected applicant from Canada. A total of $126 million of the new money has been earmarked for clearing up the current backlog of 60,000 asylum seekers. "Our generosity is too often abused by false refugee claimants," Kenney told a news conference. "The system is full of opportunities for appeal and we are streamlining that process." The shorter timelines would be achieved by allowing trained public servants to make the first call on a refugee claim and limiting avenues of appeal now open to those whose claims are rejected. Kenney said the new limits on appeals are offset by the government's decision to create a new refugee appeal division, which would be charged with reviewing the first-level decision within four months and allowing new evidence to be submitted. Government appointees would staff the division. One measure that already has refugee advocates, as well as some opposition politicians, on high alert would allow the immigration minister to designate a list of "safe" countries of origin. Refugee claimants from those "safe" countries would not have the right to appeal a negative ruling to the new refugee appeal division. Their only recourse would be the Federal Court of Canada. Kenney billed the safe country designation as a necessary "tool" to counter any "massive" spikes in refugee claims from democratic countries with a robust human rights record. As it stands now, Kenney said, the government has to resort to imposing visa requirements when claims surge from individual countries, as it did last year for visitors from Mexico and the Czech Republic, a tactic that, he said, can undermine diplomatic and commercial relations. Kenney said the list of safe countries would be drawn up after receiving advice from an independent panel and the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees.    

In Vancouver, the country's third-largest destination for refugee claimants behind Toronto and Montreal, the proposed changes were met with mixed reaction. Immigration lawyer Zool. Suleman agreed the current system should be streamlined, but denounced the safe country idea as unfair and potentially "disastrous" to those who fall into the category. "What is a safe country today unfortunately can still be refugee-producing down the road," he said. He also worried the new process will move too quickly for those who arrive in the country traumatized and without adequate paperwork to support their claims. Adding to that problem is the difficulty of appointing lawyers and gathering documents within the tight 60-day time frame. "It may not be practical," Suleman said.   Immigration policy analyst Richard Kurland welcomed the changes overall, calling them "efficient," but said the new system will only work if lawyers are considered an integral part of the hearing process and "compensates them accordingly."   Chris Friesen of the Immigrant Services Society of B.C. accused Kenney of contributing to an inaccurate portrait of those who come into Canada to make their claims as "illegal cue jumpers." "Each refugee and asylum seeker has to be seen on the basis of their own individual merits and why they fled," he said. Last year, 33,970 newcomers to Canada sought to remain in the country as refugees. Of those, 3,563 made their claims in the western region, which includes British Columbia and the Prairie provinces. The acceptance rate in the West in 2009 was 32 per cent -- 10 per cent below the national figures. The top source countries for refugee claimants to B.C. for 2009 include Mexico, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Hungary, Colombia, China, Iran, Somalia, El Salvador and Guatemala. That list is expected to change in 2010 after the federal government imposed visa restrictions for Mexicans travelling to Canada. Last year, only nine per cent of Mexican claimants were approved to stay in the country. Meanwhile Sri Lankans had the highest acceptance rate of 91 per cent. The $540-million funding for the reforms -- which will be spread over five years -- won't be tapped until the legislation becomes law, which is not expected to happen until next year at the earliest. Kenney said the savings will be substantial under the new process. It now costs about $50,000 in heath and social service costs for each failed refugee claimant, a sum that should fall to about $29,000 under the new and speedier system, Kenney said. Other elements of the package: - Rejected claimants would have severely restricted access to the options of winning a reprieve on compassionate and humanitarian grounds, or on grounds they would be subjected to severe persecution and possibly death upon return to their native country. - A four-year pilot project to encourage voluntary departure by rejected claimants that, among other things, would provide each participant with a plane ticket back to their country of origin, and provide $2,000 to a service provider in that country to facilitate the failed claimant's reintegration into that society. - A public servant will help a refugee claimant gather all relevant information for an initial hearing before the refugee board within eight days of the claim being made. The current system gives a claimant 28 days to fill out a long form. 

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

 

 

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/786838--skilled-immigrant-visa-backlog-piling-up-again  

Skilled immigrant visa backlog piling up - again

Too many applicants in 38 job categories lead to wait of more than 7 years for processing

Nicholas Keung Immigration Reporter   

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/03/11/13198071.html      

TORONTO SUN

Child bride' loophole can't be closed  

By TOM GODFREY, QMI AGENCY   March 11, 2010 

Federal immigration officials say there's little they can do to stop "child brides" from being sponsored into Canada by much older husbands who wed them in arranged marriages abroad. Top immigration officials in Canada and Pakistan say all they can do is reject the sponsorships of husbands trying to bring their child-brides to Canada. The men have to reapply when the bride turns 16. The marriages are permitted under Sharia Law. Muslim men, who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, return to their homeland to wed a "child bride" in an arranged marriage in which a dowry is given to the girl's parents. Officials said some of the brides can be 14 years old or younger and many are forced to marry. The practice occurs in a host of countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Lebanon. 

In classified documents, Canadian visa officer Steve Bulmer said he refused to allow one Pakistani man to sponsor his 15-year-old bride in August 2009. "I can find no section (of law) that states the marriage is 'invalid' or 'void,'" Bulmer wrote in e-mails obtained by lawyer Richard Kurland under Access of Information. "I am afraid the age does not invalidate the marriage even if it is illegal to marry." Abdul Hameed, of the Canadian embassy in Islamabad, said child marriages are not valid in Canada. "A child marriage is punishable but it does not render the marriage invalid," Hameed said. "We are refusing such application on grounds the marriage will not be valid as per Canadian laws." William Hawke, of immigration's Permanent Resident Unit, said the young brides won't be allowed in Canada. "Sponsorship applications submitted for a spouse under 16 will be refused," Hawke said. "Once an underage spouse turns 16 they are a member of the family class" and can be sponsored. He said the application is rejected if a spouse turns 16 during processing. 

Kurland said there's little that can be done to stop Canadians from marrying child brides. "A 15-year-old bride doesn't void a marriage," Kurland said on Thursday. "The application is turned down and the person can reapply when his bride turns 16." He said the practice has been going on for years and "is a concrete loophole that can't be fixed." 

Immigration officials quoting an Afghanistan Law of Marriages said in some countries it is "customary for young females to wed men considerably older, especially if the man is in a position of financial or social power." According to the law, it is not uncommon for marriages between first cousins or extended family members.

 

 

http://www.asianpacificpost.com/news/topnews/article/600000skilledworkerslinecanadianvisas

600,000 skilled workers in line for Canadian visas   

By Mata Press Service 

Close to 600,000 skilled workers around the world are waiting in line to get into Canada with some processing missions showing visa queues that could stretch up to 15 years, a top immigration expert said.
Using data obtained via Access to Information requests,  Richard Kurland, a lawyer and one of Canada's top immigration analysts said that the numbers are an early warning sign for Immigration Canada to act and reduce the waiting times.

There are 594,274 people in inventory waiting for 80,055 skilled workers visas in 2010, Kurland estimated.
"Parliament does not want long processing queues for skilled workers, and gave the Minister of
Citizenship and Immigration harsh policy tools ("C-50") to be deployed in this kind of situation,' said Kurland in his latest Lexbase information bulletin.

"The Minister needs to consider downsizing the number of eligible occupations from the current 38, to a much smaller number."
The global average waiting times for all categories at all missions is 2.64 years.
"But then we examined the skilled workers. A very different picture emerges. Global average for all missions is 7.62 years ," Kurland noted.
Kurland said downsizing the total number of eligible occupations does not mean Canada loses out on potential immigrants.

"The people who are no longer eligible federally, may apply under Provincial Nominee Programs, or can choose to seek temporary status in Canada under the Foreign Worker Program and subsequently apply under the Canada Experience Class... Canada's door remains open," said Kurland.

"It may be unpopular politically, but the Minister needs to fix this."

Current projections and estimates show processing times for skilled workers of 12.79 years (New Delhi 117,098 people); 7.69 years (Hong Kong 30,763 people); 57.80 years (Nairobi 8,960 people); 33.51
years (Accra 18,688 people), or 30.06 years (Islamabad).

"Experience shows that unless a Minister is able to say 'no', processing inventories will bloat, and processing times will continue to lengthen beyond reasonable limits," warned Kurland.

Kurland's warning comes as Statistics Canada reported that Vancouver's visible minority population is on track to become the majority over the next two decades. The report shows visible minority groups are growing rapidly and will account for 59 per cent of the metro region's total population by 2031, up from a current figure of about 40 per cent. 
Immigration - led by China and South Asia - is a leading factor in the changing demographic picture. 
Of the estimated two million visible minorities living in the region in 20 years' time, one in three will be Canadian-born, the report states.

Nationally, Vancouver's diversity projections are second only to Toronto, which could be home to 63 per cent of visible minority residents by 2031. The Abbotsford-Mission region ranks third with an estimated population of 39 per cent over the same time period, followed by Calgary (38 per cent), Ottawa (36 per cent), Windsor, (33 per cent) and Montreal (31 per cent). 
Meanwhile, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney said he is streamlining the process for assessing the language skills of applicants to the Federal Skilled Worker and Canadian Experience classes.
"The language requirements themselves have not changed," said Minister Kenney. 
"But beginning April 10, 2010, prospective immigrants will be required to prove their English and French language abilities at the time they apply. This requirement supports our commitment to fast, fair and efficient application processing."
Previously, to prove language ability in French or English, applicants could either submit an independent, third-party test or a written submission to a visa officer. 
An immigrant's English or French language ability is one of the strongest predictors of their success in the job market. 
Kenney also announced a new internet resource for newcomers to help them quickly and easily find a range of government services, in addition to settlement services, in their communities
This resource is easy to find at www.servicesfornewcomers.cic.gc.ca.

 

 

http://kitekinto.hu/amerika/2010/03/05/elarasztottak_kanadat_a_magyar_menekultek&mode=print

Magyar invázió 

Kanadában Listavezetők vagyunk a menekültek számát tekintve Anton Bendarzsevszkij 2010. március 5., péntek A 2010-es vancouveri olimpián 7 ember kért politikai menedéket - ezekből is négyen magyarok, írta a Calgary Herald hírlap. 

Az adatokat Richard Kurland menekültügyi ügyvéd szivárogtatta ki egy keddi televíziós vita során, ám részleteket nem árult el személyiségi jogok miatt. 

Azt lehet tudni, hogy a hét politikai menedéket kérőből egy fő japán állampolgárságú, egy fő orosz és négyen magyar romák. A kanadaiakat a kommentárok és a visszajelzések szerint eléggé felidegesítette a négy magyar roma esete. Jelenleg, amíg elbírálják a kérelmüket, gyakorlatilag ugyanolyan státuszban vannak, mint maguk a kanadaiak. Így dolgozhatnak Kanadában, ingyenes orvosi ellátást kapnak, sőt, még ingyen tanulhatnak is. Ha pedig az elbírálás negatív eredménnyel záródik, akkor a kanadai hatóságok fogják állni a repülőjegyüket is Magyarországra, természetesen a kanadai adófizetők pénzén.   

Richard Kurland szerint Magyarországról havonta 200 emigráns érkezik. Beadják a kérvényt, „aztán 97%-uk el sem jön a meghallgatásra. Eltűnnek az országban." - mondta az ügyvéd. Ezt bizonyítja a hivatalos statisztika is, miszerint a tavalyi évben 3 fő kapott politikai menedékjogot Magyarországról, 5 ember kérvényét pedig visszautasították. Ám több mint 250 igényre egyszerűen nem reagáltak a kérvényezők. A kanadaiak szerint a probléma abban van, hogy az ország törvényei a menekültekkel kapcsolatban túlságosan nagyvonalúak, és ezt kihasználják olyan emberek, akik valójában nem tekinthetőek politikai menekülteknek, és csak az igazi menekültek lehetőségeit veszik el. Ilyen megalapozatlan menekülteknek tekinthetőek a kanadaiak szerint a magyarok is, akik az utóbbi években valósággal elárasztották az országot. Kanadában a "The Vancouver Sun" napilap szerint a menekültek számában Magyarország jelenleg az első helyen áll, és ez azt eredményezte, hogy a kanadai kormány 2009. októberében a magyar kormányhoz fordult, hogy tegyen valamit az ügyben, különben korlátozásokat alkalmazhatnak a magyar lakosság beutazásával szemben. Erre volt már példa Kanada részéről Mexikó és Csehország esetében tavaly. 2009. április-júniusában annyi menekült érkezett Mexikóból és Csehországból, hogy Ottawa jelentősen megszigorította ennek a két országnak a vízum-követelményeit. Akkor Magyarország a harmadik helyen állt a menekültek számát tekintve Mexikó és Csehország után. A szigorú intézkedések foganatosítása után a két említett ország menekültjeinek a száma megcsappant, és Magyarország listavezető lett. 2007-ben csupán 24 bevándorlási igény érkezett Magyarországról, ám ez a szám drasztikusan növekedni kezdett 2008-tól kezdve. Ez annak köszönhető, hogy 2008 nyarától nem kellett többé látogatói vízumot igényelnie Magyarország, Lengyelország, Litvánia és Szlovákia polgárainak Kanadába. Ezt a jogot korábban 2006-ban kapta meg Észtország, és 2007-ben Csehország és Lettország. A bevándorlási minisztérium szóvivője, Alykhan Velshi azt mondta 2009 októberében, hogy egyelőre nincs tervbe véve a magyarokkal szembeni vízum követelmények szigorítása, ám a magyar kormánynak sürgősen tennie kell valamit a menekültek számának a csökkentése érdekében.  ©  Kitek Média Kft. 2007-2009

 

http://www.theprovince.com/news/record/2639627/story.html

THE PROVINCE  MARCH 4, 2010     Richard Kurland is a Vancouver-based immigration policy analyst and lawyer. Incorrect information appeared in an article on Page A26 of Wednesday's Province.  © Copyright (c) The Province

 

 
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2010/03/03/asylum/  

риехавший на Олимпиаду россиянин попросил убежища Россиянин, приехавший в качестве зрителя на Олимпиаду в Ванкувер, попросил убежища в Канаде, пишет выходящая в Монреале The Gazette. Всего с прошением о присвоении статуса беженца к властям Канады обратились семеро иностранцев, прибывших на Олимпийские игры. Известно, что кроме россиянина среди подавших прошение оказались японец и четверо венгров цыганского происхождения. Об этом газете сообщил юрист Ричард Керланд (Richard Kurland), занимающийся иммиграционными делами в Ванкувере. Законодательством Канады предусмотрено ограничение доступа к информации о личных данных просителей убежища, включая данные о стране их происхождения. Однако Керланд сослался на то, что гражданство просителей озвучил федеральный министр иммиграции Джейсон Кенни (Jason Kenney), с которым юрист 2 марта провел теледебаты. Керланд рассказал, что пока прошения претендентов будут рассматриваться, они смогут работать в Канаде, а также получать пособие и бесплатную медицинскую помощь. Подобная процедура занимает до двух лет, добавил юрист. В случае, если прошения будут отклонены, просители смогут вернуться домой за счет канадского бюджета. По данным Верховного комиссара ООН по делам беженцев, на январь 2009 года более 103 тысяч граждан России были признаны беженцами в других странах, еще более 15,7 тысячи россиян ожидали принятия решения по их прошениям об убежище.

 

 
Richard Kurland Photograph by: Steve Bosch, PNG file, The Province 

Lawyer sounds alarm as 7 Olympics fans seek asylum 

BY JOHN BERMINGHAM, THE PROVINCE MARCH 3, 2010 

03/03/10 2:06 PM http://www.theprovince.com/story_print.html?id=2635635&sponsor= Page 1 of 2 

http://www.canada.com/news/Seven+Olympic+spectators+seek+Canadian+asylum/2634084/story.html

Richard Kurland Photograph by: Steve Bosch, PNG file, The Province   

Immigration officials say seven Olympic spectators have applied for refugee asylum in Canada. One is from Japan, one from Russia and four are Hungarian Roma, according to Vancouver-based immigration lawyer Richard Kurland. 

Kurland said federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney revealed the countries of origin during a TV debate between the pair Tuesday. The information is normally protected by privacy rules. Kurland said the claimants can work in Canada, get free medical and welfare and send their children to school while they wait to process their claims, which can take up to two years. If they lose their claims, airline tickets home are paid by taxpayers. 

The Roma claims made Kurland particularly angry. "If ever there was a case to be made for the abuse of Canada's generous refugee system, this is it," Kurland said. "They give genuine refugees a bad name." Last year, the Immigration and Refugee Board accepted three refugee claims from Hungary. Five were rejected. More than 250 claims were abandoned or withdrawn. 

"Ninety-seven per cent of them don't show up at the hearings," said Kurland. "That's it, they're gone." 

He said refugee claimants from Hungary are currently coming into Canada at the rate of 200 a month. Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokeswoman Johanne Nadeau said six of the refugee claimants are from visa-exempt countries, while one is from a country requiring a visa to enter Canada. 

"Naturally, these people arrive on their own, and some of them have more means than others," said Nadeau. Nadeau also noted that more refugee claimants could surface in coming weeks. So far, no Olympic athletes or officials have filed claims. Last year, Ottawa imposed a visa requirement on the Czech Republic after a flood of asylum-seekers from the Roma minority there. The head of a Vancouver-based immigration support group said he's not surprised Olympic spectators are making a claim. But it won't be easy for them, he predicted. "It is a huge undertaking," said Eyob Naizghi, executive director of Mosaic. "Eighteen months in limbo is a hell of a time." The onus is on the refugee to prove they have a genuine claim, he said. Not only do they not know if they'll be making a new life in Canada, they don't know the consequences if they return to their country of origin, he said. "It's a tough journey for whoever makes that gutsy decision to actually say I am going to make a refugee claim in Canada," Naizghi said. 

jbermingham@theprovince.com © Copyright (c) The Province

 

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100302/olympic_refugees_100302/20100302?hub=Canada

Refugee claims from Olympics 'ridiculous': minister   

CTV.ca News Staff   Tue. Mar. 2 2010

Seven people who came to Canada to watch the Vancouver Winter Olympics are now seeking refugee status, CTV News has learned, including claimants from Hungary, Russia and Japan. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said it was "ridiculous" that anyone from Japan could claim to be a refugee and told CTV's Power Play Tuesday that it was a sign that the system has broken down. "Look, to get two claims from Japan? This is ridiculous. Japan is a liberal democratic country with full human rights protections," he said. "You have to wonder what kind of a system we have that encourages people from a democracy like that to be saying that they're victims of persecution and coming to Canada." Kenney could not comment on specific cases, but said four of the claimants are from Hungary, two are from Japan and one is from Russia. The minister said Hungary is becoming a problem for the immigration and refugee system. "It's become our No. 1 source country for refugee claims: we're getting several hundred a month," he said. "What's really weird is that 97 per cent of the Hungarian refugee claimants to Canada are subsequently withdrawing their refugee claims ... I haven't got an answer to why that is happening." But Kenney suggested that it could be because refugee claimants are allowed to work in Canada, collect welfare and claim other social benefits even after they abandon their refugee claims. "So I think people may be getting into Canada, making a claim, getting benefits or a work permit, and then for whatever reason they decide I guess that they don't have a legitimate claim and that's why they withdraw it or don't pursue it." He said he found it difficult to believe that genuine refugees could come from Hungary, even from the country's Roma minority. "Hungary is a member of the European Union, it's a democratic country in full compliance with human rights laws. While there are challenges for people there, there's no evidence of state persecution." 

Richard Kurland, a lawyer specializing in immigration matters, said allowing failed or abandoned refugee claimants to continue collecting welfare or other benefits is "simply bizarre." "It looks like someone propped the door open with a brick. These numbers clearly show that there's an element of abuse of Canada's generosity," he said. "Something else is going on other than a genuine refugee claim." He said the vast majority of the Hungarian refugee claimants are from the Roma community and are primarily interested in coming to Canada for free health care, education and other social services. If they were really facing persecution, Kurland said they could much more easily travel to another European Union country. Visitors from Hungary do not require a visa to enter Canada and Kenney said the government would prefer to keep it that way. But he said changes to the refugee determination system are on their way. "Part of the lesson here is that we need to fix our refugee system," he said. "I think it's a pretty obvious signal to people when they can come to Canada, make a claim, get welfare benefits, get a work permit and stay here sometimes for years ... It's a backdoor to immigration, which is unfair to all the other legal immigrants waiting to come to Canada." "This is a very serious problem and we need to address it." 

It's not unusual for people attending international sporting events in Canada to make refugee claims. A man believed to be a Romanian coach claimed refugee status during the 1988 Calgary Games, and Olympian wrestler Daniel Igali claimed asylum here after competing at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C.

 

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/03/01/13074271.html

Olympics spawn refugee claims 

By TOM GODFREY, TORONTO SUN     

While the Winter Olympics have ended in Canada, the stay of seven foreign spectators continues after they filed refugee claims. Federal immigration officials said the seven, whom they can't identify because of privacy laws, stayed behind after the Games ended on Sunday. More than 5,500 athletes and officials were accredited to the Vancouver Games and officials expect more of them to surface as claimants during the coming weeks. Johanne Nadeau, of citizenship and immigration in B.C., said she couldn't reveal what countries the spectators are from, or their identities. "There are no special programs for these people who arrive here and make claims," Nadeau said on Monday. "Their claims will be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board." 

Immigration lawyer and policy analysist Richard Kurland said he expects more refugee claims - even from athletes - to surface this week as teams fly home. "Typically, the claimants surface after a few days," Kurland said. "This is part of the other 'closing ceremonies' that occur after the Games." He said it'll take about a year or longer for the cases to be determined by the board. "During that time they can work and receive health care," Kurland said. "They will also receive a free trip home if they are deported afterwards." 

Officials said some of the claimants entered Canada from the U.S. by posing as spectators or family members of those participating in the Games. Thousands of the athletes were attending the Games from countries that required a visa to get here like Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, China, India and Uzbekistan. Refugee claimants are not rare for international sporting tournaments. A Romanian coach claimed refugee status during the 1988 Calgary Games and Nigerian-born wrestler Daniel Igali claimed asylum in Canada after competing at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. He received citizenship and won a gold medal for Canada in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

 

http://www.timescolonist.com/sports/2010wintergames/Four+seeking+asylum+make+refugee+claims/2600870/story.html

http://www.timescolonist.com/story_print.html?id=2600870&sponsor=   

 

Four seeking asylum, make refugee claims   BY DARAH HANSEN, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE    FEBRUARY 23, 2010   

Four people who entered Canada as Olympic spectators have sought to stay in the country as refugees, Canadian immigration officials said yesterday. Just who the asylum seekers are and where they came from has not yet been made public. But Johanne Nadeau, spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said the four arrived from countries whose citizens do not require a visitor's visa to enter Canada. Nadeau also confirmed the claimants are not among the 27,000 foreign nationals -- including athletes, team officials, Olympic officials, workers and members of the media -- who are in Vancouver under a special streamlined accreditation process designed to support the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Rather, "they indicated that they originally came to Canada to see the Games and then made a refugee claim," Nadeau said in an e-mail to the Vancouver Sun. Nadeau said she couldn't discuss the origin of the claimants because of privacy laws. However, Richard Kurland, a Vancouver-based immigration policy analyst, suggested the asylum seekers may have come from Hungary or Slovenia, which are among the top source countries for refugees to Canada recently, in large part due to large populations of Roma people. The Roma -- many of whom have claimed ethnic persecution in their home countries -- can be found throughout Europe, but travel to Canada is restricted for most by a visa requirement. Canada has historically seen an influx in refugee numbers during major international sporting events. During the Calgary Games in 1988, one person, rumoured to be a Romanian coach, sought asylum. Six years later, 13 people applied for refugee status during the Victoria Commonwealth Games. Among them was Daniel Igali, the Nigerian-born wrestler who went on to win gold for Canada during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Now a resident of Surrey, Igali was among the celebrated torchbearers for the 2010 Games. In 1999, six Cubans made asylum claims, including a journalist, during the Pan American Games in Winnipeg. Nadeau said the four recent claimants will have their cases processed individually. "Each case will be assessed according to its own merits," she said. On average, refugee claims in Canada take 18 months to process.

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist           

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/four-olympic-spectators-seeking-refugee-status-in-canada-84862592.html   

 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS   FEB 21, 2010 

 Four Olympic spectators seeking refugee status in Canada By: Tamsyn Burgmann, 

THE CANADIAN PRESS       VANCOUVER, B.C. - Border officials say four people who entered Canada as Olympic Games spectators are seeking to stay as refugees. Citizenship and Immigration Canada said that by Friday, only the handful of people had sought asylum. Owing to privacy law, officials could not release specific details about their identities or home countries. All four would have had to have either proof, such as Games tickets, or special entry documents, said a Vancouver immigration expert. Hundreds of thousands of foreigners are visiting Vancouver for the Games, including athletes, their families, Olympic officials and spectators, all of whom would have been questioned at Customs on their reasons for coming here. "The Olympic race includes refugees to Canada, because we're letting so many more people into the country so quickly," said Richard Kurland, an immigration policy analyst. Immigration spokeswoman Johanne Nadeau couldn't immediately explain how officials identified the four as Olympic spectators, but Kurland said along with those who pulled out tickets or proof of accommodation, the group could include spouses or others accompanying athletes and officials designated as "Olympic family members." There are several ways people could enter Canada for the Games, Kurland said. Members of the Olympic "family" were given accreditation through the Vancouver organizing committee, known as VANOC, after background checks by Immigration Canada. The organizing committee's workforce went through the same process. About 7,000 of those 27,000 members would have normally required a visa to get into the country, coming from countries like India, Pakistan, China, Turkey, Uzbekistan, North Korea, Iran and Lebanon. "Those who are accredited by VANOC will receive a unique Olympic/Paralympic Identity and Accreditation Card ... which will provide access to venues and sites," says a June 2009 Immigration Canada information bulletin. "In addition, for participants from visa-required countries, the (card) will serve as an entry document into Canada." Canada took the risk of getting more refugee claims by allowing thousands of people into Canada without a visa during the Games, Kurland said. "We don't know if the claimants got in because of this memo," he said. 

However, if someone arriving as a spectator didn't have that special accreditation and didn't need a visa, they would encounter the usual protocol: showing a valid passport, return ticket home and proof of reason for their stay, such as tickets to events or funds for a hotel stay. Refugee claimants are nothing new to international sporting events. At least one sporting official - believed to be a Romanian coach - claimed refugee status during the 1988 Calgary Games, and Canadian Olympian Daniel Igali claimed asylum here after competing at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria. He received citizenship and went on to win a gold medal wrestling for Canada in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Kurland expects there could be more claims yet. "Given the past experience of previous Olympic Games, typically people will slide underground and not go home," he said. "They surface after the closing ceremonies in the refugee system." Nadeau said the four would-be refugees will be processed individually, with each case assessed on its owns merits.   

 

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/02/09/12809831.html     About 7,000 athletes and team members who normally require a visa to travel here have been issued special immigration passes to get them across Canada's borders so they can participate in the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Police and other security officials said the 7,000 "visa-required" athletes who were issued unique immigration accreditation cards for the Games could have posed a security threat if they were not subjected to thorough background checks. The athletes are among 27,000 participants arriving this week in Vancouver for sporting spectacle which starts Friday and runs to Feb. 28. Some of the athletes who require visas but have received special accreditation for the Games are from India, Pakistan, China, Turkey, Uzbekistan, North Korea, Iran and Lebanon. "Those who are accredited ... will receive a unique Olympic/Paralympic identity accreditation card," according to an immigration department bulletin obtained by the Toronto Sun. "The (accreditation) also serves as an entry document into Canada." The bulletin said expedited clearance procedures will be in place at border crossings to quickly process athletes and delegates. The immigration cards are issued to Olympic and Paralympic athletes, Olympic committee members, Intertational Sports Federation members, media representatives and observers from other organizing committes. Immigration department spokesman Joanne Nadeau said the cards contain security features to curb possible fraud. 

Richard Kurland, a Quebec immigration lawyer, contended athletes and team members receiving the cards won't have to visa application fee, ranging from $75 to $150, or face tough checks that. "They (immigration dept.) are taking a bigger risk than normal," Kurland said on Tuesday. "If proper background checks aren't completed on atheletes, this can present a security risk."       

 

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/edmonton/Deportees+cost+system/2191647/story.html?id=2191647     

Deportees can cost system $500,000   

Nearly 160,000 await removal, lawyer finds   

BY ETHAN BARON, VANCOUVER PROVINCE; CANWEST NEWS SERVICE     NOVEMBER 6, 2009     

Almost 160,000 foreign nationals ordered deported remain in Canada, according to federal data obtained by a Vancouver immigration lawyer. It can cost up to$500,000 to send a foreign citizen home if a chartered plane and police and medical escorts are necessary, according to the Canadian Border Services Agency. The average cost of removing someone without an escort is $1,500, while escorted removals average $15,000, the CBSA reports. "This is the first time ever, to my knowledge, that we know the active-removal inventory in Canada," says lawyer Richard Kurland, who received the numbers from the agency after an access to information request. Warrants have been issued for the deportation of more than 41,000 people who have disappeared while enmeshed in the deportation process, according to the CBSA data. Of nearly 18,000 foreigners in the final stage of deportation from Canada, two to nine per cent are criminals, Kurland says. The remaining 100,000 are still in earlier stages, fighting the deportation orders.

"They're clinging to the delay vine," Kurland says. "As long as their grip is good, they can remain in Canada for years." 

Some of those 100,000 have received stays of deportation orders in court, or have requested an assessment of the risk they'd face if returned home. Others have applied for permanent residency or refugee status. The CBSA was not immediately available to comment. 

© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal

 

 

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100113/national/oly_refugee_claims

 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/81345492.html

 

The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION

Refugee claims possible, but low-risk during Vancouver Olympics: experts

By: Tamsyn Burgmann, THE CANADIAN PRESS       13/01/2010 1:50 PM | Comments: 0

VANCOUVER, B.C. - Before Daniel Igali famously earned Canada wrestling glory by winning its first Olympic gold in the sport, he was a young Nigerian athlete grappling for a superior position in life. After competing at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B.C., the 20-year-old made a bold move. He skipped his team's flight back to his politically unstable homeland and asked Canada for asylum. Had it not been for an international sporting event, Igali might never have been handed a ticket to more prosperous soil. But once here, he gained the right to Canadian protection as a Convention Refugee.

When the world heads to Vancouver next month for the 2010 Winter Olympics, thousands of athletes, coaches, officials, sponsors, workers, journalists and their delegations will enter Canada under unique circumstances. Some might want to claim the Maple Leaf as their own. "Athletes, team members, people involved with the Games might not have otherwise gained a visa to enter Canada but for the Games," said Audrey Macklin, who teaches immigration and refugee law at the University of Toronto. Under the Olympic Charter, people designated as Olympic Family Members needn't show the usual visa to travel here. Instead, they'll be admitted under a special application process handled by the Vancouver Olympic Committee, which will submit those names to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. There is also a special process of entry for accredited workers. While some consider Canada's immigration policy to be liberal, government officials routinely deny access to people from nations known for persecution in order to avoid taking them in as refugee claimants, Macklin said. "In the case of the Olympics, of course, there is some pressure on Canada not to do that because the Olympic Games are supposed to be a symbol of international harmony and co-operation," she said.

While defections by athletes from the Eastern Bloc were common during the Cold War, refugee claims continue to be made even now during international events hosted by Canada. During the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, at least one person, rumoured in media reports from the time to be a Romanian coach, applied for status. Thirteen athletes, including Igali, asked to stay during the Victoria Commonwealth Games in 1994. Six Cubans raised the ire of their government when they made claims during the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg. During the Ottawa-Hull-hosted Francophone Games in the summer of 2001, at least 106 participants from 17 countries made bids for refugee status. And despite rigorous visa screening for World Youth Day in the summer of 2002 in Toronto, a handful of people made claims. Some 150 delegates to the International AIDS Conference in Toronto did so in 2006.

Despite these numbers, immigration experts and advocates aren't predicting a major surge in claims connected with the Vancouver Games. In fact, they say in contrast to Summer Olympics, the risks are fairly low. "People who practice winter sports are usually from the northern hemisphere (nations), they're very low for potential refugee claimants," said Patrice Brunet, a Montreal-based specialist in immigration law. But Brunet didn't rule out the notion that some claims would be made.

Richard Kurland, a Vancouver immigration-policy analyst, doesn't discount the likelihood that some visitors may try to overstay. Part of the problem, he said, is that Canada has no way of tracking who leaves.

Australia found itself hunting upwards of 108 people who overstayed their visas after the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Illegals heralded from 61 countries, including 79 members of the Olympic Family and 29 coaches, officials and reporters, according to Australia's The Daily Telegraph. Some 30 people eventually filed refugee claims. Three months after the Games, 11 Olympic and Paralympic team members from the United States were still unaccounted for, along with eight people from the U.K., seven from Spain and six from Germany.

"We have the same problem because Canada has no official exit controls," said Kurland.

Macklin said the government must be prepared for a potentially complex situation should claims be made. Officials must be ready to protect high-profile individuals from exposure, she said. It's usually under quite different circumstances when someone makes their way to Canada from China, for example, and makes a claim. "It's not as if there are Chinese government officials standing there ready to drag them back. But here, there will be," she said. "So you have to make sure that you don't just deliver them back into the hands of Chinese officials." About 33,000 people make refugee claims in Canada's Western region each year.

While there's no expectation claims will dramatically spike this time around, Kurland said, it only takes one person asking for a new home - like Igali - to become the next world-famous Canadian.

"No one is overly excited about refugee claims during this Olympics, which may set the stage, frankly, if there's a surprise."

 

http://news.xinmin.cn/rollnews/2010/01/13/3337865.html

 加拿大移民部拟打击非法移民顾问 或进行突检

 

 

2010-01-13 14:12 来源：中国新闻网 共 0 条评论 关键字：移民部,非法移民,移民官

 

据加拿大《明报》报道，移民律师李克伦(Richard Kurland)取得加拿大移民部内部文件指出，移民部在斯高沙省(Nova Scotia)悉尼(Sydney)的申请个案处理中心，已开始建立调查未在申请表上签名的“移民代办”的档案。

 中新网1月13日电 据加拿大《明报》报道，移民律师李克伦(Richard Kurland)取得加拿大移民部内部文件指出，移民部在斯高沙省(Nova Scotia)悉尼(Sydney)的申请个案处理中心，已开始建立调查未在申请表上签名的“移民代办”的档案。移民部甚至考虑，是否派驻在海外的移民官，到这些“隐形”的“移民代办人”所留的住址进行突击检查。

李克伦提醒在中国的申请人，如果所委托的移民代办，不肯在申请表格上签名，这应该就是所谓的“黑市顾问”(Ghost Consultants)，他们没有合法资格可以帮助申请人，如果申请人还是愿意委托他们，可能与其它申请填上同一地址，一旦被移民部发现是同一名非法顾问所代办，均将被重新检视申请，特别留意内容是否有做假。

移民律师王仁铎则对北京委托合法代办人比例不足一半，并不觉得奇怪。他亦相信在没有合法申请代办人的申请中，由“黑市顾问”代办的比例应该很高。

他说，移民部在法令上，并未规定申请人一定要请人代办，而在加拿大境内建立移民顾问执照制度后，令更多在海外，不可能取得执照的代办人，全部成了非法，不能在申请表格上填写姓名。而且当中还包括一些非法移民顾问，拿了钱却不办事。

王仁铎又称，移民部即使想打击非法移民顾问，而修改移民法，让非法移民顾问将面临刑事处罚，但他指若这些非法顾问都在海外，移民部又该如何打击，他觉得最后修法也未必可发挥效果。

(本文来源：中国新闻网)

Thursday, January 7, 2010   NATIONAL POST

http://www.corusradio.com/Shared/AudioVault/CKNWAMaudioVault.asp?VaultDate=20100106&VaultTime=09&mysubmit=Listen

CKNW RADIO

THE BILL GOOD SHOW   -   BRITISH COLUMBIA

 

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/tough-us-security-rules-may-target-foreign-born-canadians/article1418893/

 

Globe and Mail    

Tuesday, January 5, 2009

Tough U.S. security rules may target foreign-born Canadians

By Siri Agrell

Tens of thousands of Canadians could face heavy scrutiny at border, 

based on where they were born

Tens of thousands of Canadians born in the 14 countries on a new anti-terror watch list could now be subjected to full-body scans and invasive security pat-downs when they travel to the United States. The U.S. government announced new security measures on Sunday requiring increased screening of individuals travelling into the country from Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen - countries deemed to be "state sponsors of terrorism." But the new rule will also apply to anyone travelling to U.S. destinations on a passport from those countries, meaning that Canadians with dual citizenship or landed  immigrant status could be singled out for scrutiny no matter how long they have lived in their adopted homeland. The directive has caused confusion in international airports, as countries decide how to implement such a sweeping change to security protocol, and prompted accusations of racial profiling. Under the U.S. directive, passengers from watch-list countries must be screened before boarding planes bound for American cities.

Maryse Durette, a spokesperson for Transport Canada, said the Canadian government is currently evaluating its response to the U.S. Transportation Security Administration's new security demands. "The United States is asking countries with U.S.-bound passengers to have special screening for passengers of those 14 countries," Ms. Durette said. "Aviation security here is looking into how to implement this in Canada." Ms. Durette said she did not know how the new requirements would affect Canadian residents. But critics have suggested that foreign-born Canadians from watch-list countries will be unfairly targeted.

"If you have the 'wrong place of birth,' according to Americans, be prepared for secondary examinations, intrusive questioning and an overall heightened delay in travel to the States," said Richard Kurland, a Vancouver-based policy analyst and lawyer. "It's profiling at its worst." The security changes have created widespread confusion and unease amongst those who hail from the countries in question. But so far, there have been few reports of the directive actually being implemented. In Europe, there was no visible change in screening methods, according to news reports. Associated Press reporters found no change at airports in Syria, Libya, or Lebanon - countries on the watch list.

If the screening is introduced in Canada, thousands of travellers could be affected. As of 2007, there were more than 30,000 Canadian landed immigrants from the 14 watch-listed nations, with 9,800 from Pakistan alone, according to a Statistics Canada report. And there are close to one million Canadian citizens who were born in those countries, according to Jim Karygiannis, a Toronto-area Liberal MP who deals regularly with immigration issues. On Monday, he was contacted by representatives of various immigrant communities worried about the new travel regulations. "They're not sure what the rules are," Mr. Karygiannis said. "There is a lot of concern and there's no clear guidelines that are coming out." Nigerian-born Franklin Omoruna, who lives in Toronto, said many of his friends hold dual Canadian and Nigerian citizenship, and are unclear how this will affect their experiences at the border. "It's the fear of the unknown," he said. "You don't have the details and sometimes you might go unprepared because you don't know everything."

Shahid Hashmi of the Canadian Pakistani Chamber of Commerce said his daughter flew to Australia via Los Angeles over the Christmas break, and was subjected to questioning by U.S. airport officials because of a Pakistani visa on her passport from a family holiday. "It was difficult enough before," he said. "I've lived in Canada for more than 37 years, why should I have to go through a difficult time at the border? And why should my kids?" Mr. Hashmi said he is not defending terrorism, or questioning the means used to combat it, but said that Canadians should be protected from undue scrutiny. "I'm defending what it means to be a Canadian citizen," he said. The security measures have also prompted outrage from the American Civil Liberties Union. The group released a statement on Monday urging the U.S. government to focus on "evidence-based, targeted and narrowly tailored investigations based on individualized suspicion, which would be both more consistent with our values and more effective than diverting resources to a system of mass suspicion. "Overbroad policies such as racial profiling and invasive body scanning for all travellers not only violate our rights and values, they also waste valuable resources and divert attention from real threats," said the ACLU's national security policy counsel, Michael German. Airports around the world have been on high alert since Christmas Day, when Nigerian-born Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab failed in his attempt to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253. He had passed through security screening in Nigeria and the Netherlands before boarding the Detroit-bound plane. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has announced new security rules that include a directive for full-body pat-downs and carry-on luggage checks for people travelling from or through the following countries: Afghanistan 
Algeria 
Cuba 
Iran 
Iraq 
Lebanon 
Libya Nigeria 
Pakistan 
Saudi Arabia 
Somalia 
Sudan 
Syria 
Yemen

 

Other passengers will see additional screening measures. It is now up to an aircraft's captain whether to require passengers to put away electronic devices during the flight and to remain seated for the final hour before landing, a TSA source told The Associated Press. The TSA also said on Sunday that all passengers on U.S.-bound international flights will be subject to random screening and airports were directed to increase "threat-based" screening of passengers acting in a suspicious manner.

The Associated Press

 

http://www.straight.com/article-276707/vancouver/caregiver-changes-not-enough-prof-says

The Georgia Straight

Caregiver changes not enough, prof says 

By Carlito Pablo December 23, 2009

 

RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL

http://www.rcinet.ca/rci/en/emissions/archives/archivesDetails_1952_18122009.shtml

RCI: The Link

Carmel Kilkenny speaks with immigration lawyer Richard Kurland who obtained the report through an access to information request. 

 

 

http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=2352845

 

National Post-December 18, 2009

Canada faces possible illegal migrant surge: report

Peter O’Neil, Europe Correspondent,  Canwest News Service      Mike Blake/Reuters

A growing backlash against the millions of illegal migrants in Europe, and recession-related social tensions elsewhere in the world, could lead to a surge in undocumented 

migrants entering Canada to take advantage of generous social programs and a "sympathetic" refugee processing  system, according to an internal Canada Border Services 

Agency report. The report cites "increasing anti-immigrant sentiment" around the world and lists various "nationalist" and "protectionist" measures by countries like Australia, 

Japan, Malaysia, Spain and Italy to reduce immigration or drive out foreign workers competing for local jobs. The report emphasizes Europe's struggles with illegal migrants, 

but was written before recent controversial actions, such as France's forced closure of a refugee camp in Calais and Switzerland's referendum vote banning new construction 

of minarets -- towers on mosques from which Muslims are called to prayer. "The flow of African migrants to Europe is increasingly targeted by enforcement activity, and even 

those that successfully arrive are now unlikely to find the unlimited employment opportunities and freedom of movement that once were available," said the intelligence report 

that circulated among CBSA and Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials in September. "It is unlikely that these migrants are willing to return to their country of origin 

where conditions are markedly worse, recession or not. Alternative destinations, such as Canada, are likely considerations."

The report, obtained through the Access to Information Act by immigration lawyer Richard Kurland, said there was no indication 

of a current surge to  Canada -- yet.

"In light of a lengthy global recession, Canada's position in the global economy, its reputation for comprehensive social services and a sympathetic 

refugee claim process, will increasingly make Canada an attractive destination for displaced migrant workers and irregular migrants leaving behind 

social and political conflicts." One of Europe's most prominent immigration experts said the Canadian report is somewhat "alarmist," given that the

millions of migrants in Europe face powerful incentives to stay put -- existing networks of family and friends -- and huge barriers in trying to cross 

the Atlantic to get to Canada. But Danny Sriskandarajah said Canada needs to be aware of crackdowns around the world that can influence the 

"unstoppable" torrent of migrants desperately trying to leave the world's poorest regions. "I don't think Canadians should stay awake at night worrying 

about hordes of illegal immigrants," said Mr. Sriskandarajah, director of the Royal Commonwealth Society in London. "But on the other hand Canada 

quite sensibly needs to be aware of how other countries behave, because it may add to the pressures or interest in coming to Canada."

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who has said he intends to revamp Canada's refugee determination system, said the 

government believes Canada's borders are vulnerable. "We're always concerned about the problem of irregular migration, people being drawn to 

Canada because of our overly generous asylum system and our generous social programs," said Alykhan Velshi, Mr. Kenney's spokesman. But he 

agreed with experts contacted by Canwest News Service Thursday who said a surge of African migrant workers arriving from Europe is unlikely. The 

vast majority of migrants in Europe don't have European passports, making it impossible to board a flight to Canada without a tourist visa, he noted. 

Another expert in Europe noted that there has been no increase in people movements to Canada from Spain, despite that country's sky-high 

unemployment rate and the presence of millions of workers from Africa and Latin America. Jobless migrants, rather than attempt a costly and 

high-risk trip across the Atlantic to claim refugee status, will most likely stay put in a country like Spain, since they already have a network of family

and community connections, said the expert, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The undated report was distributed internally to CBSA and 

Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials as an attachment to a Sept. 2, 2009 e-mail, which stressed that the information was "sensitive" and 

not intended for the public domain. The report warned of potential social unrest in China and other parts of the developing world as a result of the 

recession and migrant crackdowns in rich countries. "Countries such as China and Bangladesh will have masses of unemployed who, in recent years, 

had grown accustomed to an improved standard of living. If not managed, these situations have the potential to erupt into political and social crises. 

"Labour importing countries reacting to the economic crisis by imposing new restrictions on the number of foreign workers permitted, or accelerating 

removal for displaced foreign workers in an effort to protect jobs for the domestic workforce, may be inadvertently aggravating fragile political 

environments." 

© 2009 The National Post Company. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/as-countries-shut-out-migrants-canada-warned-it-will-become-the-new-safe-harbour/article1402019/

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2234418

The National Post      

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

Court gives sponsors chance to avoid paying for immig

rants on assistance

Natalie Alcoba,  National Post     

An Ontario court has ruled in favour of a group of residents who said they should not automatically be made to pay for relatives they sponsored to immigrate to Canada, despite having pledged to do so, in a decision that could have costly implications due to the number of such immigrants who seek social assistance. The landmark ruling by the Ontario Court of Appeal says the provincial government must consider the circumstances of immigrant sponsors and use "case-by-case discretion" when deciding whether to demand sponsors pay back the money their family members collect. Appeal court Justices Janet Simmons, S.E. Lang and John Laskin wrote that Canada and Ontario "owe sponsors a duty of procedural fairness when enforcing sponsorship debt." The ruling hinges on language in the legislation that says sponsorship debt "may be recovered," and which the judges believe grant the government discretion. There is "strong argument that the governments' discretion extends to forgiving sponsorship debt," the judges wrote. A government spokesperson said lawyers have not decided whether to appeal the decision, which overturned an earlier ruling.

Lorne Waldman, an immigration lawyer who represented one of eight people who launched the legal challenge, said the ruling does not mean people will not be held accountable for paying their sponsorship debt. "What it means is that the government has to go through a process before it collects the debt." He said the lawyers argued for an "individualized assessment" that takes into account how a person's situation may have changed. "The banks do this all the time, why shouldn't the Ontario government do this in these types of cases?" However, some legal observers said the ruling has pricey implications, since the Ontario government provides millions of dollars worth of social assistance every year to sponsored relatives, and a case-by-case analysis could carry a hefty administrative price tag. So far this year, about 5,000 sponsored immigrants have applied for social assistance in Ontario, according to the Ministry of Community and Social Services, with a cost of about $56-million. About $45-million of that has been covered by the province and the rest by municipalities. A spokesperson said $13.7-million has been paid back. Ministry spokesperson Sandy Mangat said the government tries to come up with a voluntary repayment plan, and if all else fails goes to the Canada Revenue Agency to route tax credits to cover the debt.

The legal challenge was launched by five men and three women who had sponsored various relatives to immigrate to Canada. Two women left their husbands over alleged abuse and could no longer support their relatives; three men were on the hook for welfare payments after their wife or fiancés left them upon arriving in Canada. Nedzad Dzihic, Mr. Waldman's client, learned a woman he had sponsored to come to Canada as his fiancé in 2002, and who had refused to marry him shortly afterwards, started collecting social assistance when the visa for another woman he wanted to marry was rejected in 2006. He would have been financially responsible for the first woman for 10 years. Mr. Waldman said until recently the Ontario government did not go after any debt, and only started to do so when it began swapping information with the federal government. He said he has spoken with people who sponsored parents to come to Canada years ago, and then suddenly received a letter saying they owed the government $55,000.

When someone sponsors a family member to immigrate to Canada, they promise to financially support him or her during the initial years in Canada. If welfare money is paid out during that period, the sponsor must reimburse the government, said Richard Kurland, a Quebec immigration lawyer. The obligation varies. A spouse, for example, has a sponsorship period of three years, and it is 10 years for most others. "The idea was to control abuse, because before this mechanism existed, there was a tendency for a small number of people to import family relations to Canada for the express purpose of taking undue advantage of our welfare system, chronic care homes, what have you," said Mr. Kurland. The sponsorship system made sponsors share the overall economic burden, which curtailed this kind of abuse. 

He said the creation of a "case-by-case determination system" would create "humongous administrative overhead" and weigh down any collection system.  "It just begs the question, should we be having case-by-case determination for the relatively small number of cases like this? Or could we be a little smarter, and adopt the Quebec system where the sponsor gives a 100% guarantee to pay, with no excuses possible?" said Mr. Kurland. 

Guidy Mamann, a Toronto immigration lawyer, said the ruling could have wide effects, if it is challenged by the Ontario government and reaches the Supreme Court of Canada. "We now know that the government has the discretion to forgive a debt or to enforce a debt. That's very important because the government argued it has no discretion. If there's a debt [they] have to collect it," said Mr. Mamann, based in Toronto. "This is going to be very influential in other provinces."

National Post     nalcoba@nationalpost.com

http://www.omnibc.ca/news/index.php?language=1

加拿大邊境服務局一份內部文件披露, 全加共有超過1萬7千名罪犯及難民申請失敗者正等候被遣返, 當中2,313人為中國人,居第一位. (2009-11-06)

根據資訊自由法,向加拿大邊境服務局取得文件的本地律師Richard Kurland表示,在等待遣返的人士中,中國公民總數最多.他指出,很多難民申請者因為已銷毀了身分證明文件,加方在將他們遣返時,需要得到中國政府配合,重新向被遣返者發放旅遊證件.如果中方不配合,加方則無法執行遣返.而加中談判旅遊目的地協議ADS同時,應該會要求中國政府保證配合遣返程序,他恐怕一旦旅遊協議達成,會有更多中國公民滯留本地. Kurland話:「如果旅遊目的地協議達成, 會有更多中國遊客來加國, 也會面臨更大的遣返帳單, 如果談判旅遊目的地協議, 中國政府就要承諾給予簽發護照方便.」 移民律師錢路則表示,總理Harper本次訪華,相信會談及滯留人士遣返的議題,但由於賴昌星等個案遲遲未解決,加方很難立即得到中方的配合. 錢路說:「對於這些人, 我估計某種程度的諒解可能會達成, 但是立即把這些人送回中國, 可能從中國方面來講, 還會有一些時間, 大概在賴昌星、高山這些案子徹底解決之前,中國政府會對加拿大政府有一些成見.」 雖然很多重大經濟嫌犯遲遲無法遣返,但被中國警方通緝的合同詐騙犯罪嫌疑人劉曉全,于10月21日被遣返回中國,去年,涉及兩千萬元人民幣詐騙案的鄧新志也從多倫多被遞解回國。可見加中雙方的配合進一步加強. 今天到訪溫哥華的聯邦國際貿易部長Stockwell Day 表示,加中雙方正在努力達成旅遊目的地協議,但其中的確仍有障礙. 他話:「我們都在做出努力, 加方盡全力達成協議, 等待中方採取更多行動.」 加拿大邊境服務局的報告同時指出，雖然中國是需要遣返人數中占首位的國家，但在去年成功遣返的只有274人.而去年有3811人遣返至墨西哥，2465人至美國.Kurland 認為披露這份報告,應該是想在總理訪華前向對方施壓,希望能夠配合遣返程序.

TRANSLATION:  Canada Border Services Agency an internal document revealed that the All-Canadian 1000 a total of more than 10,007 criminals and refugees are waiting for the losers were repatriated, of which 2,313 Chinese people, ranking the first. (2009-11-06) 

Under the Freedom of Information Act to the Canadian Border Services Agency to obtain the file's local lawyer Richard Kurland said that those who are waiting for repatriation, the largest total number of Chinese citizens. He pointed out that many asylum seekers because it has been destroyed identity documents, the Canadian side that will their repatriation, you need to tie in with the Chinese government to re-issue the travel documents have been repatriated. If the Chinese do not fit the Canadian side will not execute repatriated. and Canada negotiated an agreement ADS tourist destination at the same time, you should ask the Chinese Government to ensure that they meet the repatriation of program, he feared that tourism agreement is reached, there will be more Chinese citizens stranded in Hong Kong. Kurland: "If an agreement is reached tourist destination, there will be more Chinese tourists to Canada will also face greater repatriation bills, if the negotiating an agreement tourist destination, the Chinese Government will have promised to facilitate the issuing of passports. "immigration lawyer Qian Lu, Prime Minister Harper's visit to China this time, I believe that talks and stranded person back to the subject, but because of Lai Changxing, the delay in such cases resolved, Canada is difficult to tie in with the Chinese side immediately. Qian Road, said: "For these people, I guess a certain degree of understanding might be reached, but immediately returned to China these people may be from the Chinese side is concerned, there will be some time, probably in Lai, mountain until a final settlement of these cases, the Chinese Government to the Government of Canada will have some preconceived ideas. "Although many delays in the repatriation of significant economic suspects, but was wanted by the Chinese police contract fraud suspects Liu Quan, on the October 21 was sent back to China last year, fraud involving 20 million yuan Tang Xin-zhi, to be deported back from Toronto. Canada can be seen with the two sides further strengthened. Today visited Vancouver, Federal International Trade Minister Stockwell Day said Canada and China are trying to reach an agreement tourist destination, but there are still obstacles to do. He: "We are making efforts to , the Canadian side do its utmost to reach an agreement, waiting for China to take more action. "Canadian Border Services Agency's report also pointed out that although China is the number of people need to account for the repatriation of the first country, but only in the last year's successful repatriation of 274 people. In the past year 3811's return to Mexico, the 2465 people to the United States. Kurland that the disclosure of the report, should be want to put pressure on the Prime Minister's visit to China prior to the other side, hoping to meet the repatriation process. 

 

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/11/03/martin-collacott-slow-down-you-re-granting-asylum-too-fast.aspx

Martin Collacott: Slow down, you're granting asylum too fast

Posted: November 03, 2009, by NP Editor

Martin Collacott, Canadian politcs

The arrival of 76 Sri Lankan Tamils aboard a vessel that some experts believe may be owned by the Tamil Tigers has raised a number of troubling questions. Unlike the 599 Chinese who appeared off the coast of British Columbia 10 years ago, there is every indication the latest arrivals intend to try to stay in Canada permanently. The Chinese boat people had quite different objectives. They were being smuggled into Canada in order to be smuggled in turn into the United States — where they planned to work in menial jobs in order to pay off those who had brought them here illegally. It was not in their game plan to get caught by the Canadian authorities. They knew nothing about claiming refugee status when they arrived here and had to be coached by their Canadian lawyers on how to put together tales about how they had been persecuted in China in order to stand a chance of being accepted as refugees.

The 76 new arrivals will need no such instruction. They have almost certainly brought with them carefully prepared stories of how they have suffered, because they are Tamils, at the hands of the mainly Sinhalese government of Sri Lanka. While such claimants have been quite successful at gaining asylum in Canada until now, this group may find the task somewhat more daunting.

For one thing, with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers by government forces earlier this year, no one can claim they are fleeing the fighting. While it is true that large numbers of Tamil civilians are still living in difficult conditions in camps run by the government while it attempts to identify Tamil Tiger operatives hiding in their midst, the situation is gradually returning to normal. When this process is completed, much will still have to be done in terms of national reconciliation and involving Sri Lanka Tamils fully in the political life of the nation.

The suggestion that Tamils are being persecuted as a people in Sri Lanka, however, is nonsense and is a myth propagated by Tamil extremists. The Tigers have, in fact, tried to systematically assassinate moderate leaders in their own community who do not agree with the goal of creating a completely independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka by violent means. The latest victim of their ruthless campaign was the foreign minister of Sri Lanka, Lakshman Kadirgamar, an ethnic Tamil, who was murdered in 2005.

There can be no doubt that Canada has been more than generous to Sri Lankan Tamils seeking asylum. Between 1989 and 2004, for example, we gave refugee status to more than 37,000 such claimants — far more than to the nationals of any other country. Our largesse is also impressive by international standards; in 2003 we accepted 50% more claims from this source than did all the other countries of the world combined. Here’s one indication of Canadian generosity, and even laxity, in our treatment of refugee claimants. In order to be successful, the claimants have to be able to make the case that they fled their countries of origin because it was not safe to remain there. Yet, in one year alone, 8,600 Sri Lankans with refugee claims pending in Canada applied to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Ottawa for travel documents so they could go back to Sri Lanka for visits. A further indication that Sri Lanka is not quite as dangerous a place for Tamil refugee claimants as their supporters try to make out is to be found in an internal Citizenship and Immigration Canada communication (obtained through an access to information request by Vancouver lawyer Richard Kurland) which noted that “returnees (to Sri Lanka) are dealt with professionally and, unless there are outstanding criminal warrants, deportees and other returnees are simply returned to the community on arrival after brief and professionally conducted interviews.”

The report went on to state that “other countries have successfully returned large numbers of failed asylum seekers, and Sri Lanka is a safe destination for unsuccessful refugee applicants.” In the same vein, at an Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) hearing in 2006, it was pointed out that more than 100 Sri Lankans (failed refugee claimants, and presumably all Tamil) had been sent back to their homeland and none had been mistreated as their lawyers had claimed they would be. Nor is it surprising that they should choose Canada their destination even though it is about as far from Sri Lanka geographically as one can get. Canada not only has the most generous system of benefits for refugee claimants but has the highest acceptance rates. In the case of Sri Lankan Tamils, last year Canada rejected 2.6% of their applications while other countries had an average rejection rate of 50%.

While the Tigers have run human smuggling operations to raise funds for their terrorist cause by bringing people illegally into Canada, such activities were also aimed at strengthening the ranks of their supporters in this country. The IRB helped out in this regard by giving expedited processing and almost automatic approval to persons considered to be at risk, including “young Tamil males aged 10 to 40 or 45 years from the north and east” of Sri Lanka (i.e., from the area controlled by the Tamil Tigers). Such a profile, however, just happened to be identical with that of male Tamil Tiger guerrillas, and by the year 2000 the Toronto police Tamil Task Force estimated that Canada’s largest city was home to as many as 8,000 members of Tamil terrorist factions, most notably the Tigers.

The result of our largesse in making it so easy for terrorists and their supporters to get into Canada through the refugee system was to be seen in their ability to mobilize large numbers of people to block traffic in Toronto and Ottawa earlier this year in the hopes of getting Canada to pressure the Sri Lankan government into a ceasefire that might have saved Tamil Tiger forces from complete oblivion. One particular scenario that the Canadian authorities must be wary of is the possibility that this latest group of arrivals is the vanguard of large numbers of Tamil Tigers and their supporters planning to come here with the intention of making Canada the base for their separatist movement and a future insurgency in the wake of their military defeat in Sri Lanka. In doing so they would be emulating Sikh separatists and extremists who have concentrated much of their activity in Canada after the confrontation between their co-religionists back in India and the central government of that country largely subsided (the Post reported on the phenomenon in “Sikhs still divided after 25 years,” on Oct. 28). To achieve this end, Sikh extremists have also made ample use of our refugee system in order to get their supporters into Canada.

National Post

Martin Collacott was the Canadian high commissioner to Sri Lanka when the conflict between the Tamil Tigers and government forces began in earnest in 1983. He lives in Vancouver.

 

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/canada/Cost+deporting+someone+from+Canada+could+immigration+lawyer/2189955/story.html

Cost of deporting someone from Canada could hit $500,000: immigration lawyer

BY ETHAN BARON, VANCOUVER PROVINCE NOVEMBER 5, 2009

VANCOUVER — Almost 160,000 foreign nationals ordered deported remain in Canada, according to federal data obtained by a Vancouver immigration lawyer. It can cost up to $500,000 to send a foreign citizen home if a chartered plane and police and medical escorts are necessary, according to the Canadian Border Services Agency. The average cost of removing someone without an escort is $1,500, while escorted removals average $15,000, the CBSA reports.

“This is the first time ever, to my knowledge, that we know the active-removal inventory in Canada,” says lawyer Richard Kurland, who received the numbers from the agency after an access to information request. Warrants have been issued for the deportation of more than 41,000 people who have disappeared while enmeshed in the deportation process, according to the CBSA data. Of nearly 18,000 foreigners in the final stage of deportation from Canada, two to nine per cent are criminals, Kurland says. The remaining 100,000 are still in earlier stages, fighting the deportation orders. “They’re clinging to the delay vine,” Kurland says. “As long as their grip is good, they can remain in Canada for years.”

Some of those 100,000 have received stays of deportation orders in court, or have requested an assessment of the risk they’d face if returned home. Others have applied for permanent residency or refugee status.  The CBSA was not immediately available to comment.   © Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

 

http://www.canada.com/Cost+deporting+could+500K+Lawyer/2192243/story.html

http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=2192243&sponsor=

Cost of deporting could hit $500K: Lawyer

NEWS SERVICES  NOVEMBER 6, 2009

Almost 160,000 foreign nationals ordered deported remain in Canada, according to federal data obtained by Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.

It can cost up to $500,000 to send a foreign citizen home if a chartered plane and police and medical escorts are necessary, according to the Canadian Border Services Agency. The average cost of removing someone without an escort is $1,500, while escorted removals average $15,000, the CBSA reports. Of nearly 18,000 foreigners in the final stage of deportation, 2-9% are criminals, Kurland says. © Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

 

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009/11/06/11654656-sun.html

November 6, 2009

42,000 deportees lying low in Canada

Toronto cops worried as 'staggering' number of immigrants go on lam from officials

By TOM GODFREY, SUN MEDIA

Almost 42,000 immigrants have gone underground and are being sought on warrants for deportation -- one quarter of the 160,000 people who are in different stages of removal from Canada, according to just-released government documents. There are more surprising numbers: More than half being removed are from Greater Toronto, the destination of choice for a staggering 60 per cent of all newcomers to Canada. Toronto Police Association officials said they're concerned because people facing deportation are desperate and will do anything to escape arrest. "We are most concerned for our front-line officers," association president Mike McCormack said yesterday. "This raises safety concerns since these people are desperate and want to avoid compliance."

The association has had a lawsuit ongoing for 15 years against the department alleging negligence in the June 1994 shooting death of Toronto Police Const. Todd Baylis by two-time deportee Clinton Gayle. "It's been 15 years since Baylis was killed and it shows that very little has changed," McCormack said, adding the association will petition immigration minister Jason Kenney to speed up deportations.

The August 2009 statistics were obtained from the Canada Border Services Agency by Quebec lawyer Richard Kurland and made available to the Toronto Sun.

CBSA spokesman Patrizia Giolti confirmed the document was released by her officials but refused further comment. The document said of the 160,000 offenders awaiting deportation, some 85,500 are awaiting a decision of their refugee appeals, 14,800 are appealing to the Federal Court of Canada and 17,800 are waiting for travel documents. It said immigration officers are actively searching for 42,000 immigrants who have gone underground and are sought on warrants.

"The numbers of people being removed is staggering," Kurland said yesterday. "That number is bigger than many small cities." He said there are many thousands of others in Canada who are unaccounted for by immigration authorities because they've gone underground or have left the country. "A large amount of the people are from the GTA," Kurland said. "Many arrive in Canada and settle in Toronto."

The document said the top countries for deportation include Mexico, the U.S., St. Vincent and the Grenadines, China and Jamaica. It said it costs about $1,500 to deport a person without an escort and up to $15,000 for deportees who require two escort officers. In some cases, up to $500,000 is spent to charter a jet to deport dangerous offenders.

TOM.GODFREY@SUNMEDIA.CA

 

http://www.canada.com/news/national/Cost+deporting+someone+from+Canada+could+immigration+lawyer/2189955/story.html

Cost of deporting someone from Canada could hit $500,000: immigration lawyer

BY ETHAN BARON, VANCOUVER PROVINCE NOVEMBER 5, 2009 11:02 PM

VANCOUVER — Almost 160,000 foreign nationals ordered deported remain in Canada, according to federal data obtained by a Vancouver immigration lawyer. It can cost up to $500,000 to send a foreign citizen home if a chartered plane and police and medical escorts are necessary, according to the Canadian Border Services Agency. The average cost of removing someone without an escort is $1,500, while escorted removals average $15,000, the CBSA reports.

“This is the first time ever, to my knowledge, that we know the active-removal inventory in Canada,” says lawyer Richard Kurland, who received the numbers from the agency after an access to information request. Warrants have been issued for the deportation of more than 41,000 people who have disappeared while enmeshed in the deportation process, according to the CBSA data. Of nearly 18,000 foreigners in the final stage of deportation from Canada, two to nine per cent are criminals, Kurland says.

The remaining 100,000 are still in earlier stages, fighting the deportation orders. “They’re clinging to the delay vine,” Kurland says. “As long as their grip is good, they can remain in Canada for years.”

Some of those 100,000 have received stays of deportation orders in court, or have requested an assessment of the risk they’d face if returned home. Others have applied for permanent residency or refugee status.

The CBSA was not immediately available to comment. © Copyright (c) Canwest News Service

 

http://www.vancouversun.com/Iraqi+deserter+takes+sanctuary+downtown+church/2122651/story.html

Iraqi war deserter takes sanctuary in downtown church

Kansas man denied refugee status this summer and ordered to leave Canada

BY RICHARD J. DALTON JR., VANCOUVER SUN      OCTOBER 20, 2009

The first Iraqi war deserter to seek sanctuary in a Canadian church is staying in the Downtown Eastside, an organization supporting war resisters said Monday. Sarah Bjorknas, Vancouver coordinator for the War Resisters Support Campaign, said about 50 war resisters have sought refugee status in Canada over the last five years, but Rodney Watson is the first to seek safe haven in a church. Watson, 31, of Kansas City, Kan., was denied refugee status this summer and was ordered to leave the country by Sept. 11. A week later, he said Monday, he moved into an apartment at First United Church on East Hastings Street. He cannot go outside. After coming here in 2006, Watson fathered a son who is now 10 months old. Watson is now seeking to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Vancouver-based lawyer Richard Kurland said it's a weak case and the church could damage its credibility with the Canada Border Services Agency in any future cases by supporting Watson.

Watson said he decided to leave the army after his deployment in Iraq was going to extend beyond his original commitment. He said an army recruiter had promised him a job as a cook but he ended up checking vehicles for car bombs. Each day, he wondered: "Is this the day I'm going to get blown up?" he said. Lt.-Col. Nathan Banks, an Army spokesman for the Pentagon, said, "If he wanted to be a cook, he should have made sure that it was in writing." But he added: "You're a soldier first. You always got to be ready to pick up your rifle." Banks said Watson would likely be arrested upon entering the U.S. Watson's commander could then choose a penalty of discharge, jail time of three months to six years, or death, Banks said. But the military doesn't seek the death penalty, he added. Watson said: "Why should I spend one month or more or a year in prison while the people who led us into the war by saying they [Iraqis] had weapons of mass destruction are walking around free? No one's going after them. The main culprits behind the Iraq war are walking free."

rdalton@vancouversun.com      © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

 

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2009/10/16/11420581-sun.html

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Wealthy investors being turned back

By TOM GODFREY, SUN MEDIA

If the world's wealthiest man wanted to move to Canada, he'd better be ready to wait in line for years, Toronto immigration lawyers say. They claim wealthy immigrants who want to resettle here to invest and hire Canadians are having the doors shut on them, with some having to wait up to five years for an interview. Bill Gates would be "waiting at the border" for years, lawyer Guidy Mamann said yesterday. "He would have to account for every nickel he's ever made." Only 447 business immigrants were allowed into Canada in 2008, compared to 1,668 in 1998, Mamann said. "We are losing our competitive advantage to other countries," he said. "We need to bring people here and create jobs and employ people." Mamann said he has clients who have millions of dollars in banks outside Canada who are waiting for a visa. "This is outrageous in this economic climate," added Toronto lawyer Mendel Green. "Some of these people have been waiting for years and they are taking their business elsewhere." The ultra-rich are going to Australia, New Zealand and the European Union, he said. Business immigrants can hand over up to $400,000 for Ottawa to invest for four years, put $250,000 into a business, or create jobs for Canadians. "We should be welcoming these people with open arms," Green said. "These people should be treated with priority." But some business immigrants just don't stick around, lawyer Richard Boraks argued. "Too many of them use Canada as a hotel," he said. "A lot of them don't always follow through with their obligations."

Lawyer Richard Kurland said the business category is receiving fewer applicants yearly. "The benefits to Canada are negligible," he said. Federal immigration spokesman Dannielle Norris said the program "seeks to attract experienced business people who will support the development of a strong and prosperous Canadian economy."

http://news.singtao.ca/vancouver/2009-10-06/headline1254824013d2074535.html

港人回流 大陸人填補  [2009-10-06]

加拿大亞太基金會的報告指出，以移民來源地分析，過去十年來，加國香港移民回流人數比例最高，而中國新移民近來回流也有升高趨勢。亞太基金會博士生研究員陳自恬在該報告的初稿中，引用1996、2001、2006年加拿大全國人口普查數據，按統計學公式計算1996年至2005年加國移民回流比例，發現香港移民回流比例最高，達24.20%；而同期中國移民回流比例則為-2.18%（移入的人數與回流人數比較之後，詳見左表）。報告又指出，如果僅計算2001年到2005年加國移民回流比例，香港新移民回流比例最高，達16.8%；而同期中國移民回流比例也上升為5.9%。年齡愈大 回流比例愈低   此外，該報告發現移民年齡愈大，回流比例愈低。按加國城市分析，移民回流比例最高的，依次為渥太華（17.17%）、滿地可（14.12）、溫哥華（8.99%）、多倫多（5.98%）。 亞太基金會公關部門表示，該報告的初稿曾在今年5月在渥太華會議簡報中公布，他們將會在10月28日公布最後報告，表示目前不便就此評論。  撰寫報告的陳自恬周一對本報表示，在這份統計資料中，回流人口雖然不一定全部回流移民來源地，也可能前往美國或其他地區，但相信超過80%是回流到原居地。 陳自恬指出，雖然報告並沒有研究移民回流原因，但仔細分析香港移民回流情況，可發現1996年到2000年是回流高峰期，回流的比例高達16.99%，而2001年到2005年回流則減緩為0.4%。顯然1997年以前，當初不少香港移民並非真心想移民，而是以「買保險」心態拿加國護照。但在1997年回歸後，這些無心留加的香港移民在取得加國身分後，自然選擇回流。依據《資訊自由法》取得這項報告的移民律師庫蘭（Richard Kurland）也指出，不少來自中國大陸或者香港的移民，近來選擇回流大陸和香港，估計是中國經濟迅速發展，提供本地找工不易的移民強大誘因。另外，他們決定帶同家人回流，在原居地重尋事業第二春

TRANSLATION:  Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada reports that in order to analyze the source of migrants over the past decade, Canada has the highest proportion of emigrants returning to Hong Kong, while new immigrants from China have tended to increase recently returned. 

Asia Pacific Foundation Doctoral Fellow, Tim Chen from the first draft of the report, citing 1996,2001,2006 Canadian national census data, according to statistics calculated from 1996 to 2005 the proportion of Canadian returning emigrants, found that the highest proportion of immigrants from Hong Kong back, up 24.20 percent; while returning over the same period the proportion of Chinese immigrants, compared with -2.18% (the number of people moved into the number of comparisons with the return, see the left table). The report also pointed out that the if only the calculation from 2001 to 2005 the proportion of Canadian returning emigrants, returning the highest proportion of new immigrants in Hong Kong, up 16.8%; while returning over the same period the proportion of Chinese immigrants increased to 5.9%. Age, the lower the ratio the greater the return In addition, the report found that immigrants grow older, the proportion of the lower back. According to the Canadian city of analysis, the highest proportion of returning emigrants, followed by Ottawa (17.17%), Montreal (14.12), Vancouver (8.99%), Toronto (5.98%). Asia Pacific Foundation of public relations department, said the first draft of the report in May this year, the briefing session in Ottawa announced that they will be published in the October 28 final report, saying that the inconvenience to make any comments. Report writing from Tim Chen, Monday told this newspaper that, in this statistical information, the returning population, though not necessarily all the returning emigrants sources may also go to the United States or elsewhere, it is believed that over 80% have returned to their places of origin. CHEN Zi Tian pointed out that although the report does not study the reasons for returning migrants, but a careful analysis of the situation in Hong Kong returning emigrants can be found from 1996 to 2000 years back the peak period, the proportion of return as high as 16.99%,