RHYME & REASON

Filipiniana News   -  March 2011 Rhyme and Reason For many if not all of us, there would come a point in our lives when we, or a family member, will require the services of a lawyer, paralegal or legal consultant (referred here as a “legal advocate”).   Justifiably or not, many are apprehensive about working with legal advocates. This article is meant to provide some guidance towards eliminating such apprehensions.  As in most everything else, achieving a good and satisfying relationship with a legal advocate involves a two-way process.   If you are thinking of consulting with or retaining a legal advocate’s services, here are a few tips that could hopefully make the experience a positive one.  First of all, your choice of a legal advocate should not be driven solely by financial considerations.  That is, do not choose a legal advocate only because he or she charges the lowest fees.  Conversely, the fact that a legal advoc...

Filipiniana News – February 2011 RHYME & REASON In this so-called month of love, it may be appropriate to review some basic issues and a recent change in Canada’s immigration laws and regulations relating to spousal sponsorship applications.   Types of Relationship Eligible Under a Spousal Sponsorship Application   There are three different types of partnerships that could qualify under the spousal sponsorship class:  spouses, common-law partners and conjugal partners. Spouses are couples who are validly married in the jurisdiction where the marriage was celebrated.   To prove the genuineness of the marriage, the sponsor and applicant must provide documentary evidence such as wedding photos, invitations, reference letters, love letters to each other, etc..   The Canadian or permanent resident can sponsor the spouse even a day after getting married so long as the genuineness of the marriage is adequately proved. Common-law partne...

Filipiniana News – January 2011 RHYME & REASON     This being the start not only of a new year but of a new decade, please allow me to wax philosophical and list some of my fondest hopes for all: Fairness and Justice Most of us are aware that laws are greatly influenced by politics.  That is, laws enacted by lawmakers (who also happen to be politicians) do not necessarily promote or lead to fairness and justice for all but often only for a favored few.   The manner by which laws are sometimes executed by enforcement officers and interpreted by judges may also leave much to be desired.   They are still human beings after all.  As human beings, we all have vested interests, whether we would like to admit it or not.   These interests inevitably creep into anything that we do, think or say, whether intentionally or not.   However, as human beings, we are also gifted with the ability to discern and to make choice...

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...