RHYME & REASON

Filipiniana News – December 2010 RHYME & REASON Ten days before Christmas, the Supreme Court of the Philippines released a decision acquitting the accused in the 1991 Vizconde massacre due to the prosecution’s failure to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.   Philippine newspaper accounts portray two contrasting stories and images:  that of the Webb and other accused family members’ rejoicing in the alleged vindication of their kin; and that of Mr. Vizconde’s anguished reaction over the alleged injustice committed against his family.  Anyone could readily sympathize with Mr. Vizconde’s deep sorrow over what he perceived to be another “massacre” committed against his wife and daughters who were mercilessly killed almost two decades ago.   For those who profess the innocence of the accused such as their families, it will be an equally grave injustice if Webb and his co-accused continued to be imprisoned after having already spe...

Filipiniana News – November 2010 RHYME & REASON   This year is turning out to be an extremely busy one for the government’s immigration portfolio. After numerous changes to the immigration law, regulations and implementing guidelines, here comes Bill, C-49, also known as the “ Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act ”, which is being presented by the government as a measure to address the serious problem of human smuggling. The bill is clearly a reaction to the arrival of a group of Tamil migrants aboard the ship Sun Sea in Vancouver in August 2010 less than a year after another group of Tamil migrants arrived in BC via the ship Ocean Lady in October 2009.   The rhetoric following these arrivals were sadly filled with sweeping judgments against the migrants even before they were accorded due process within our refugee determination system.   These migrants who have all submitted refugee claims were branded as “...

Filipiniana News – October 2010 RHYME & REASON A few days ago, I have viewed euphoric scenes of the miners rescued in Chile after having been trapped underground for two months.   It was fascinating to see how millions around the world watched with great anticipation the dramatic rescue of each miner who came out of a narrow tube, one person at a time, every half hour or so.  The miners’ determination to survive, the rescuers’ heroic efforts and everybody else’ refusal to give up hope all undoubtedly contributed to a triumphant outcome.  The nightmare endured by the miners during those two months reminded me of a recent observation made by an advocate who characterized caregivers with complex immigration problems as being “trapped in a system that can never be perfect.”   Indeed, the immigration system is far from being perfect.  As such, it can be quite easy to fall into a  seeming trap (or blackhole) for months and even years...

Filipiniana News – September 2010 RHYME & REASON Recent changes introduced to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations relating to temporary foreign workers (TFW) have been raising a lot of fear and confusion within the caregiver community.  Foremost of these fears is the persistent rumor that “live-in caregivers are not anymore eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada”.  Another is the speculation that live-in caregivers will be deported to their home country if at the end of four years, their permanent residence applications under the live-in caregiver class have not been granted. What really is the current state of the law as far as LCP participants are concerned?  What are these recent changes which have brought much confusion to many? Since I have already summarized the administrative and regulatory changes to the LCP in my April 2010 column, I am simply summarizing below the recent regulatory changes to the temporary...

Filipiniana News – August 2010 RHYME & REASON Although the issue had arisen in the past, sponsorship fraud was in the news again quite recently after a number of Canadians who sponsored their foreign spouses publicly decried the fact that the latter only married them for purposes of gaining immigration status in Canada.   Unfortunately, the sponsored spouses have already  been granted permanent residence and the sponsors cannot simply revoke the three-year undertaking to support that they submitted with the sponsorship application.  As much as they would  want these alleged fraudsters deported immediately, there are processes which need to be undertaken before this can be done. At the other  end of the spectrum are couples in genuine, committed and loving relationships who are suffering from long-term separation due to the immigration officer’s often perceived overzealousness in disputing the genuineness of a marital relationship, usually by...

Filipiniana News – July 2010 RHYME & REASON     Minister Kenney is being touted as one of the most, if not the most hardworking, immigration ministers that Canada has ever had.  This can be attributed not only to his extremely high visibility in media and community events but also to the successive reforms that he has introduced and implemented in the less than two years that he has been appointed as head of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).  After having introduced reforms to the LCP and the refugee application process, he has once again proposed revisions to the ministerial guidelines with respect to those applying for permanent residence in Canada under the federal skilled worker and immigrant investor categories. The changes to the skilled worker applications took effect on 26 June 2010.  One of the main changes was the reduction of the list of in demand occupations from 38 to 29 jobs. Those who wish to apply under the federal s...

Filipiniana News – June 2010 RHYME & REASON Misrepresentation in the context of immigration law can be a tricky concept.  Hence, many are often caught by surprise when told that they are inadmissible to Canada on this ground.  They learn too late that some act or omission they were not completely aware of, or some seemingly innocent wrongful declaration could either result in a denial of their immigration application, or worse, the stripping of their permanent resident status. In Canadian immigration law, misrepresentation is defined as “directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of the act.”  The words “directly or indirectly” imply that the act of misrepresentation may have been committed by the applicant/permanent resident or by other people.  Since indirect misrepresentation still appears to be a largely misunderstood and prevale...

Filipiniana News 15 May 2010 Since the last time I wrote on this subject a couple of years ago, I continue to receive inquiries on how to “convert” one’s visitor status into a work permit or permanent resident visa while remaining in Canada.   Apparently, there are still those who assume that once they are able to obtain a visitor visa to enter Canada, it would be much easier to work on their “papers” while inside the country rather than to submit their permanent resident applications from overseas.  It does not help that the current processing times for permanent resident applications are still taking a number of years to complete.  Any potentially quicker alternative therefore becomes a much more attractive option for many. Depending on one’s personal circumstances, the above assumption may not necessarily hold true and in some cases, prove to be utterly false.   It often becomes a source of disappointment and/or frustration for many to realiz...

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason April 2010                                 Nearly four months after Minister Jason Kenney’s announcement in December 2009 regarding the changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) finally released the implementing guidelines for these changes which took effect on April 1, 2010.  A summary of these guidelines follow.    Administrative Changes The following changes affect the processing of LCP work permit applications where the related applications for a labour market opinion (LMO) are received by Service Canada on or after April 1, 2010.   These changes mainly pertain to the additional requirements in the signed employment contracts between the live-in caregivers and their employers.  Under these changes, the prospective employers must agree to pay for the following benefits in favor of t...

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason March 2010 *Please note that this and all other legal articles that I have written in this column are strictly meant for legal information purposes only and not intended to serve as specific legal advice.  If you have related concerns, it is strongly advised that you consult with a lawyer or paralegal licensed by the relevant provincial law society to discuss your particular situation.* A previous article that I wrote on this topic almost three years ago was published on the web without my permission.  Incidentally, I made an inaccurate statement in that article which I would like to clarify here.  Contrary to what I wrote then, a single entry visa to Canada will not prevent the visa holder from re-entering Canada if the visa-holder has traveled solely to the United States (or to St. Pierre and Miquelon) as long as the person returns to Canada prior to the expiry date on his or her visitor record.  The immigration regula...

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 14 February 2010           Many rejoiced when Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced substantial changes to the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) on 12 December 2009 at the Kababayan Community Centre in Toronto.  Although the changes did not fully encompass the reforms that caregivers and their advocates would have wanted (i.e. permanent resident status upon arrival in Canada), they were generally seen as a good start for at least having recognized the many shortcomings of the program.  These proposed changes were published in the Canada Gazette on 19 December 2009 for a 30-day period and final regulatory changes are supposed to be published afterwards.  Aside from the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS) published on the CIC website with details of the proposed changes, there is still no clear indication whether these changes have actually entered into force and are being i...

Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 13 January 2010     For many of us, one of the first things that we are taught at home and in school is how to give thanks.  It sounds easy enough to say or do, but as we grow older, it also ends up as being one of the easiest things to neglect. If we count ourselves among those who routinely say “thank you” for favors given to us, how often have we stopped to reflect whether we really mean it?   Is gratitude adequately  expressed by saying the words, “thank you”?   Perhaps.  But I also think that there are far better and more effective ways of expressing our sincere gratitude. First, it does not hurt to express thanks directly to the person concerned, not necessarily through spoken words, but also through a kind thought or prayer, a smile, a nod, or even a hand wave.  For instance, I have seen the latter many times while driving on busy roads and drivers acknowledging those who let them...