Filipiniana News – August 2012 RHYME & REASON A recent controversial bill introduced in Parliament is called the “Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act”. If one were to rely solely on the bill’s title, it seems that only non-Canadians and permanent residents will be affected by the proposed changes. However, a closer review of the bill’s contents will reveal that even permanent residents are included in the definition of “foreign criminals”. If anything, this bill reminds us that “permanent residence” in Canada is not so permanent after all. Canada’s immigration laws underwent a major overhaul when the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) was enacted in June 2002. Nearly ten years hence, several misconceptions still abound regarding the requirements and guidelines for maintaining one’s permanent resident status. When permanent resident (PR) cards were created, many thought that as lo...