RHYME & REASON

Filipiniana News   -   February 2017 Rhyme and Reason US Travel Ban,   STCA and the ETA As Canada's closest neighbour, a lot of what is happening in the United States can have a significant impact on our country.   This is especially true in the area of immigration law and policy owing to our shared physical borders and a common official language.   Thus, when the new US President Donald Trump issued his extremely controversial and highly-questionable executive order suspending the entry of citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) to the US for 90 days and the entry of all refugees for 120 days (with an indefinite ban for Syrian refugees), widespread protests ensued not just in the US but all throughout Canada as well.   The resulting chaos has temporarily subsided after a US judge issued a restraining order against the implementation of the executive order pending the adju...

Filipiniana News   -   January 2017 Rhyme and Reason New Minister and New Rules for the New Year When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced some changes to the members of his Cabinet, not a few were pleasantly surprised by the appointment of a rookie Member of Parliament as Minister of the Immigration department.    The new Minister of Immigration will replace the outgoing Minister John McCallum, who will leave politics to be become Canada's ambassador to China.   From all accounts, the new Minister, Ahmed Hussen, appears to be a   perfect fit for the job, who will hopefully bring a fresh and informed perspective to this very important position.   Here are a few excerpts from newspaper articles describing the new Immigration Minister:   ”Ahmed Hussen, MP for York South-Weston, is the first Somali-born member of Parliament, who came to Canada as a refugee at the age of 16 and will serve as minister of immigration in place of...

Filipiniana News   -   December 2016 Rhyme and Reason More Immigration Policy Updates Last month, a number of changes were introduced by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and were summarized in this column.    Early this month, a few more changes were announced that could significantly impact the lives of many who intend to make Canada their home.   Faster Processing of Spousal Sponsorship Applications On 7 December 2016,   immigration minister John McCallum announced that the IRCC will further expedite the processing of all spousal sponsorship applications.    He said that new spousal sponsorship applications will be completed in less than 12 months.    All pending spousal sponsorship applications or those   submitted prior to 7 December 2016, will also be processed quickly and "should have a decision no later than the end of December 2017."      However, "complex" c...