Hardly news

Canadians are a racist lot, confirmed once again by a poll reported in the Globe and Mail today. According to the article, over 60% of people here (of undefined ethnic origin) feel that Canada makes too many "accommodations" for minorities. (Cuz you know, after they roll out the red carpet at CIC, there are headhunters and real estate agents throwing jobs and homes at everybody.)

The reasoning behind this is revealed in the answers to further questions, such as the 45% of people who feel immigrants "hold onto their own customs for too long." While 65% of people who live in Canadian cities feel that diversity enriches society, this is also an essentially selfish view, as if the only purpose for the presence of minorities is to make the lives of "real" Canadians better. This is so depressing, I don't even think I can rant about it.

Do you feel lucky?

Those of you who participated in the papers pool are now drooling with anticipation, I know. I should make a correction, though, because when I set the estimate at around 6 to 7 months, I was actually referring to the time to the AIP rather than the actual landing date, which we now know will come much later. Mr. O noticed this right away and changed his bet, but since we are not immigration lawyers and can't be expected to understand all this double speak, rather than postponing the pool or making you all bet again, I thought I'd just reword it to the above. So the same dates still stand for the AIP letter, and for those who haven't bet, there's still time!

Pick me!

It seems as if the government is moving closer to passing Bill C-31, the amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act it proposed last month. The system aims to decrease backlog (though it only applies to applications received after Feb 2008) and fast-track those applicants who have the skills most needed in the Canadian labour market.

Speaking of backlog, in the CIC FAQ on the topic I found this interesting tidbit, answering a nagging question:

...just before the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was implemented in 2002, there was a flood of applications from people who wanted to get their applications in before the new rules took effect.

It seems that this applies to the skilled worker class only, in which it can currently take up to, wait for it, 68 months. In theory, anything to reduce this wait will be a good thing, and setting annual limits would help stop the strain on resources (because as nice as it is to let everybody in, what's the point if we're not going to back it up with money?) but I'm suspicious of the Conservatives and how they might play this (a stripper ban?). Critics say that this will block people who are coming to be reunited with their families, and it remains to be seen if resources from family class will be diverted or if the money promised to immigration will cover new resources. It's also unclear how those doctors and other badly needed professionals will be integrated once they arrive...how's about a bill on that, boys?

Just when you've given up hope entirely...

You get this in your mailbox, a month ahead of schedule:

We received your application for permanent residence on October 29, 2007.

We started processing your application on November 26, 2007.

Medical results have been received.

A decision has been made and you will be contacted.

How cryptic and tantalizing is that?! Is it possible that after all this lateness they might be fucking early?! I hardly dare to consider...

It has been that kind of day. Mr. O's boss called him in today to negotiate his permanent contract, and gave him all kinds of compliments and even a bit of space to vent. Bottom line: he's got a good offer coming. So IF the above is in fact the impending AIP and not a swift kick out the door, that would save us yet another round of temporary visa paperwork. Which is a good thing.

When a reply isn't a reply at all

Dear Carey Toane,

I am replying to your e-mail of February 23, 2008, addressed to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, concerning open work permits for spouses of Canadian Citizens.

As you know, an applicant in the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada Class is not eligible to apply for a work permit until he or she has received notification that his or her application has been approved in principle. This restriction is supported by the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act and Regulations (IRPA).

Pursuant to sub-section 207 of IRPA, a work permit may be issued to a foreign national in Canada who is a member of the Spouse or Common-law Partner in-Canada Class. Given that it is permissible to issue a work permit only to a member of this class, Section 124 of the Regulations state which foreign nationals may be considered to be a member of this
class. This regulation states that a member: must be a spouse or common-law partner of a sponsor and cohabit will that sponsor in Canada, must have temporary resident status in Canada and, must be the subject of a sponsorship application.

In order to determine whether or not an applicant is a member of the Spouse or Common-law Partner in-Canada Class, officials at the Case Processing Centre in Vegreville, Alberta must examine those three elements. The mere fact of making an application in this class does not
make someone a member of the class. This determination can only be made by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) after officials have verified the status of the applicant, including verification of his or her marital status and the bona fides of the relationship.

This requirement is in place in order to protect the integrity of both the Spouse or Common-law Partner Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. If the mere fact that an application had been made in Canada could entitle a person to a work permit, this might lead to abuse of the system. It would allow applicants to "self-select" as temporary
workers simply by filing an application as a sponsored spouse or partner.

Canada permits the recruitment of foreign workers with skills that are in short supply in Canada only when such employment will not adversely affect the employment or career opportunities of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. This policy also recognizes that the admission of such workers to Canada helps create or maintain employment for Canadian
citizens and permanent residents, provides training or the transfer of specialized knowledge to the domestic work force, and helps strengthen a company's competitive position in the international marketplace.

In most cases, foreign nationals wishing to work in Canada must have confirmation of the job offer (positive labour market opinion) from Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC). HRSDC plays an important role in evaluating the need for foreign workers by assisting employers in their human resources planning, including determining if and when foreign workers are required. HRSDC assesses the employer's efforts to consider Canadian workers and the adequacy of compensation offered. It considers the adverse labour market effects of hiring a foreign worker. Employers applying for confirmations of job offers are
also encouraged to adopt strategies for training and hiring Canadian workers.

It takes time to process immigration applications. Priority is given to spouses, common-law or conjugal partners, and dependent children, together with Convention refugees seeking resettlement in Canada. Family class applications constitute the majority of immigrant
applications in many of our visa offices. This, coupled with the fact that visa officers continue to receive a high volume of applications in other categories, may result in temporary backlogs in some categories.

The Department is actively pursuing both administrative and potential legislative and regulatory tools to improve inventory management.

It is always in the client's best interests to apply abroad in the prescribed manner, if possible. There are distinct disadvantages to applying from within Canada, including noticeably longer processing times, lack of status, inability to work and ineligibility for provincial health insurance coverage. The immigration offices in Canada were originally created to deal with genuine visitors and persons in the enforcement stream; visa offices are responsible for selecting immigrants and issuing temporary resident visas.

When your husband's application for permanent residence is assessed and receives approval in principle, he can apply from within Canada for an open work permit. Until that time, if he wishes to work in Canada, he is required to follow the normal process: obtain a job offer
confirmation by Human Resources and Social Development Canada and apply for a work permit at a visa office. For more details on the work permit process, please visit our Web site at www.cic.gc.ca, or contact our Call Centre at 1-888-242-2100.

Thank you for taking to write. I trust that you will find this information of assistance.

This electronic address is not available for reply.

It's all about the paper

Mr. O's permit, dated March 13, arrived yesterday in the mail. It's good for three months, i.e. till June 13, which means we won't have any trouble coming back from our holiday in the States at the beginning of June. (Hey, it's always nice when your country of residence lets you back in.) Now we can direct our energies to the same things you nice people do, like uneducated clients and moody coworkers and TTC troubles. Hooray! Approaching normal!

I have had a hard time keeping my cool over the last little while as all of this has gone on. On one hand I'm as anxious/pissed/frustrated/worried/fed up as Mr. O (we do live together and love each other, after all) and on the other hand, I haven't had the same trouble he's had with things like getting a decent paycheque, getting around the city, etc. etc., and so sometimes I feel like he's exaggerating the problem or focusing only on the negative or simply justifying his desire to go home. I've totally blown it on at least one occasion, and I know overall I could have been more sympathetic. I guess this is a learning process for both of us...

I think I'm giving up my old ideas on why people move here in the first place. It's NOT because they get or think they'll get a better deal than they get at home. That's simply not true. There are a thousand different reasons why people might move here, and one of the biggest ones can be summarized as "other people," be them family or community or what-have-you. In other words, people come here because other people have come here before them.

Interestingly, Mr. O's new permit specifies that he has to leave the country by August, which is based on his original one-year permit. It will be interesting to see what our one-year reassessment will bring. Will we stay? In the meantime, we still have the actual residence permit to deal with. Hopefully it comes and he can apply for his open permit before his current temp permit expires, which would save us another round of papers with his employer (I know, the last one was just so much fun). But I'm not holding my breath.

Oh - another fun thing about moving: taxes! We get to do two sets for 2007 - Canadian and Finnish. I sent in our Cdn returns today after just one phone call to the international tax office, and it seems I will be getting some money back, which will go some way to replenish our "immigration debt" which is primarily owed to ourselves. A weekend trip, maybe? We shall see. The tax forms and process with the big fat guide, etc. made me all nostalgic for our PR application. Canadian bureaucratic jargon is such a rich, multifarious register. So many possibilities, so many interpretations. Sigh.

Cross finish line, exhausted

According to an agent at the CIC call centre, Mr. O's permit was mailed out yesterday and will arrive early next week. He doesn't have to have it stapled into his passport, like the immigration officer did with his first one when we entered the country; carrying it with him when travelling is enough.

When all's said and done, so-called concurrent processing means sweet diddly squat in terms of saving time, at least from inside Canada. My guess is that more time is spent on the LMO portion of these applications, to assess whether or not the applicant's job does in fact qualify, and whether or not the potential employer has in fact spent the due time searching for a qualified individual.

Either way, I'm just so relieved that it's over with. Neither of us got much sleep last night. Of course, in their wisdom his employer chose to make it only a three-month contract, so this isn't the last race we'll run...