“More applications and higher expectations mean that Citizenship and Immigration Canada needs a more responsive and flexible processing system,” said Minister Kenney.  “To achieve that, the Department is providing applicants and staff with the right tools to deliver on those expectations.”

Citizens of certain countries require a visa to come to Canada temporarily. Currently, the maximum validity period of a multiple-entry visa is five years. However, increasingly, countries are issuing passports which are valid for ten years. In light of this, CIC is changing its policy for visa issuance. Where applicants apply for multiple-entry visas, they may now be issued to the maximum validity according to the length of the passport validity (up to ten years, minus one month).

This practice, already recommended for parents and grandparents with sponsorships in process, may now be extended to other clientele, such as business visitors.

As Canada is becoming a preferred destination for visitors and business travellers alike, CIC continues to balance the need to facilitate this travel while responsibly managing our borders. We will increasingly focus attention on applications with the greatest potential for threat and vulnerability, while streamlining low risk cases. Further limitations on validity may apply on a case-by-case basis.

The ten-year visa will be an option available to more low-risk travellers who are citizens of visa-required countries. As of Monday, the technical changes needed to issue it were in place.

Under federal immigration law, the sponsors agreed to repay any welfare payments that their new arrivals may have incurred after they got to Canada. The high court, in a unanimous 9-0 ruling, overturned an earlier Ontario Court of Appeal ruling in favour of the sponsors, all of whom claimed various hardships.

The individual cases involved repayments of $10,000 to $94,000 in social assistance to the Ontario government.

“The risk of a rogue relative properly lies on the sponsor, not the taxpayer,” Justice Ian Binnie wrote Friday on behalf of the court. The court said governments have limited discretion to delay collection of defaulted payments, but not to totally forgive the debts.

“The discretion enables the governments to delay enforcement action having regard to the sponsor’s circumstances and to enter into agreements respecting terms of payment, but not simply to forgive the statutory debt,” wrote Binnie.

“In the exercise of this discretion, which Parliament has made clear is narrow in scope, the Crown is bound by a duty of procedural fairness. The content of this duty is fairly minimal.”

The government is obliged to notify a sponsor that they are in default, and allow them an opportunity to explain their financial circumstances.

“This is a purely administrative process. It is a matter of debt collection.”

In the eight individual cases before the court, the reasons the sponsors gave for not paying included leaving an abusive relationship and losing their own job. In a couple of cases, the fiancee or spouse of the sponsor simply took off after arriving in Canada and began collecting social services.

The sponsors filed motions in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2008 to defer or avoid entirely making payments back to the provincial government. The court rejected their argument, saying that sponsorship undertakings are in fact contracts, and that the sponsors understood they were assuming financial liability for their family members.

In 2009, the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed that ruling and said governments may exercise a case-by-case discretion not to collect. It noted that the law states money “may” be recovered.

The provincial appeal court ruled the government owes sponsors a duty of procedural fairness, entitling them to a process in which they can explain their circumstances.

The Supreme Court ruled that standard of procedural fairness was met in each of the eight cases.

“We are dealing here with ordinary debt, not a government benefits or licensing program,” said Binnie.

He noted that Parliament has become “increasingly concerned” about the financial burden that is being shifted to the public treasury to financially support sponsored relatives in immigrant families.

“Family reunification is based on the essential condition that in exchange for admission to this country the needs of the immigrant will be looked after by the sponsor, not by the public purse,” Binnie wrote.

“Sponsors undertake these obligations in writing. They understand or ought to understand from the outset that default may have serious financial consequences for them.”

Binnie said the government does have some discretion when it comes to considering the specific hardships of sponsors.

“It would hardly promote ‘successful integration’ to require individuals to remain in abusive relationships. Nor would the attempted enforcement of a debt against individuals without means to pay further the interest of ‘Canadian society’,” he wrote.

“Excessively harsh treatment of defaulting sponsors may risk discouraging others from bringing their relatives to Canada, which would undermine the policy of promoting family reunification.”

Binnie said the government should notify sponsors as soon as their relatives begin receiving welfare payments so debts don’t build up without them knowing. But ultimately the sponsors are responsible for keeping their relatives from becoming dependent on social programs.

“Nonetheless, it is inherent in the sponsor’s support obligation that the sponsor is to keep track of the sponsored relative he or she has undertaken to support. Family class immigrants are admitted solely on the basis of their relationship to the sponsor.”

The ruling does not affect refugee claimants, which are treated separately from family reunification applicants. Of the two million permanent residents that were admitted to Canada between 1997 and 2007, about 615,000, or 27 per cent, were under the family class.

“Recent immigrants earn incomes that are, on average, just 72 per cent of those earned by other Canadians and pay only about one-half of the income taxes paid by other Canadians. At the same time, they absorb nearly the same value of government services and transfers as other Canadians,” said Herbert Grubel, a co-author of the study and a Fraser Institute senior fellow and professor emeritus at Simon Fraser University.

“As a result of Canada’s welfare-state policies, our progressive income taxes, and universal social programs, these immigrants impose a huge fiscal burden on Canadian taxpayers.”

Using publicly available government statistics, the report, Immigration and the Canadian Welfare State 2011, calculates that the difference between immigrants’ tax payments and the value of government services they absorb was about $6,051 per immigrant in 2006, representing a total cost to Canadian taxpayers of $16.3 billion to $23.6 billion annually.

“This is a substantial amount and is expected to continue to grow for as long as the present immigration policies remain in place,” said Patrick Grady, economic consultant and co-author of the report. As an example, the report notes that in 2009, family-class immigrants made up 22.1 per cent of all immigrants who entered Canada that year. Those who were selected by the federal government on the basis of their occupational skills and other characteristics contributing to their economic success accounted for only 16.2 per cent.

“With the aging of Canada’s population and the growing unfunded liabilities of social programs, Canada simply cannot afford to absorb the growing cost burdens imposed by poorly selected immigrants,” Grubel said.

Grubel and Grady conclude that in order to alleviate the fiscal strain on taxpayers, Canada’s immigration selection process should be reformed to emphasize a reliance on market forces to replace the existing, failed system of using points to select immigrants. Their recommendations include:-

• Issuing temporary work visas to obtain entry into Canada for applicants who have a legitimate job offer from an employer in Canada, paying at least the median wage prevailing in the province in which they will be employed;
• Work visas will be valid for two years and may be renewed for two years upon the presentation of evidence of continued employment;
• Spouses and dependents of the holders of work visas may enter Canada under a program of family work visas, which allow them to accept employment;
• Holders of work visas who lose their jobs must find new employment within three months or leave Canada, unless their spouse is employed under the family-work-visa provision;
• After four years in Canada and continued employment, the holders of work visas can obtain permanent immigrant visas. Landed immigrants will be eligible to apply for citizenship two years later; and
• Immigrants may have their parents and grandparents join them as landed immigrants in Canada after posting a bond to cover payments for health care and other social benefits.

“Our proposed system would eliminate the misguided attempt by government to determine the number of immigrants that should be allowed to enter Canada and the skill set of those people. These are determinations best left to employers and the job market,” Grady said.

Download the full report here (PDF)

Among the hardest hit by the lower immigration targets will be parents and grandparents seeking to join their children in Canada. Indications point to the  government issuing about 11,000 family reunification visas for parents and grandparents overseas, down by some 5000 from last years figure of 16,000.

Employment and industry groups are also reacting negatively to a government plan to cut substantially the number of visas issued for federal skilled workers this year. New figures obtained through Access to Information show the government will cut all economic class visas by nearly seven per cent, and federal skilled worker visas specifically by 20 per cent, in 2011.

Spouses, kids get priority: Kenney

Speaking in Etobicoke, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney responded to plans to reduce family reunification visas, suggesting this is necessary so “priority” applicants — and their spouses and children — can be processed first.

“There have to be choices made,” he said. “I know that the most popular thing they could do politically would be to say that this year, we’re going to go from 14,000 to 100,000 parents and grandparents. …But it wouldn’t be responsible because that means fewer economic immigrants coming and paying taxes, or fewer refugees to save from refugee camps.”

Experts speculated that the timing of Kenney’s announcement, which indicated Canada admitted 280,636 new permanent residents last year, may have been a pre-emptive move to “dull the blow” from critics of the new visa cuts.

Parents and grandparents often aren’t viewed as a help to the economy but many immigrants entering the workforce rely on parents and grandparents for child care and help around the home.

The numbers show the government will issue about 56,000 federal skilled worker visas overseas, down from nearly 70,000 issued last year — a drop of about 20 per cent. Among the biggest losers from Canada’s reduced immigration targets are those applying under the federal skilled worker program — a category the government has repeatedly said it wants to prioritize.

The numbers in this group will drop by 20 per cent this year over last, with just 56,000 workers being allowed into Canada — compared with 70,000 last year.

Figures obtained from Citizenship and Immigration Canada show new skilled-worker applicants now receive an answer in less than a year, but only if they have a skill on a list of 29 drawn up by the immigration minister based on a controversial change introduced in 2008. Under the old system, applicants waited more than five years for a response. Applications made under that system are still being processed, but the backlog now contains more than 300,000 applications.

New figures obtained through Access to Information show the government will cut all economic class visas by nearly seven per cent, and federal skilled worker visas specifically by 20 per cent, in 2011.

Move to Alberta

You will need to submit your application to the province first and then apply for a permanent resident visa through Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) as a Provincial Nominee, once Alberta approves your application.

The AINP has different streams/categories, and you should ensure you are applying under the one that best suits your situation. The program is split into eight categories/streams:

• Employer Driven stream
• Skilled Worker category
• International Graduate category
• Semi-Skilled Worker category
• Strategy Recruitment stream
• Compulsory Trades category
• Engineering Occupations category
• US Visa Holder category
• Family stream
• Self-Employed Farmer stream

Skilled Worker category

If your skills are in demand in Alberta, you might be invited to apply for permanent residency in Canada as a nominee from Alberta. To determine whether or not your occupation is in demand, check the National Occupation Classification (NOC) Skill Levels 0, A and B. Check for jobs in this category

International Graduate category

If you’re an international graduate with skills in one of the occupations listed in the Skill Levels 0, A and B in the NOC, you might be eligible to apply for the AINP. Applicants must also show evidence of:

• Completion of an education program with a duration of at least two years at the undergraduate level or a minimum of one year at the graduate level
• Secured permanent full-time employment with an Alberta employer. The applicant must also be employed with that employer on a post-graduate work permit for a minimum of six months in a skilled occupation related to their field of study prior to applying for the AINP

Semi-Skilled Worker category

If your skills fall in the C and D list of the NOC, you might be eligible for a permanent resident visa as a Semi-Skilled worker, nominated by the province of Alberta. Selected occupations of the following industries may also be considered:

• Food an beverage processing industry
• Hotel and lodging industry
• Manufacturing industry
• Trucking industry
• Foodservices industry (pilot project)

Compulsory Trades category

Successful applicants in this category must have successfully completed the Qualification Certificate Program with Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT) and possess both the Qualification Certificate for the Compulsory Trade and a letter of invitation from AIT to apply to the AINP under this category. To be eligible, you must also:

• Demonstrate a clear ability and intention to live permanently in Alberta
• Be currently residing in Alberta
• Demonstrate that you are either currently working or have previously worked in the past two years with an Alberta employer in their trade

Engineering Occupations category

If you are an engineer, designer or drafter and you have Alberta work experience, you might be able to apply for the AINP under this category.

You must also meet other criteria, such as:

• Being able to demonstrate that you currently reside in Alberta or intend to live permanently in Alberta
• Provide evidence of related education/training and experience as an engineer, designer or drafter
• Prove your engineering credentials by providing a “Letter of No Objection” from the Association of Professional Engineers,
• Geologists, and Geophysicists of Alberta (APEGGA), or demonstrate that you are registered with APEGGA as a foreign licensee
• Have one of the occupations listed in the AINP Strategic Recruitment Stream – Engineering Occupations List
• Be currently working or have worked within the last two years in Alberta either directly or on contract for one of the following:

1. A reputable and well-established Alberta Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) company and/or
2. An Alberta company that is a member of the Consulting Engineers of Alberta

US Visa Holder category

If you’re currently working in the United States on a valid temporary skilled worker visa in an occupation that is in demand in Alberta, you might be nominated by the province for a permanent residence visa in Canada. Your current US visa must be in one of the following categories: H1-B, H1-B1, H-1C or E-3. On top of that, you must have a minimum of one year work experience in the US in one of those visa categories.

Additionally, your current occupation must be in the for the Strategic Recruitment Stream – US Visa Holder category.

Family stream

If you have relatives in Alberta and they are willing to sponsor your move to the province, you might qualify for permanent residence as a nominee in the Family stream. Alberta’s official immigration website has a self-assessment tool that you can use to see if you meet the criteria.

Self-Employed Farmer stream

Under the AINP Program, Alberta can nominate farm owner/operators who intend to immigrate, purchase and manage a farming business in Alberta. Farm owner/operators who are considering applying under this category should contact officials in Alberta’s Department of Employment and Immigration (E&I) or Alberta Agriculture and Food (AF) for further details on the eligibility criteria for the PNP program. Some of the requirements that applicants must meet include:

• Commitment to invest a minimum of CDN$500,000 of equity in a farming enterprise in Alberta
• Sufficient financial resources to develop a sustainable farming operation

This category is restricted to primary agricultural enterprises and priority will be given to applicants purchasing farming enterprises representing the best opportunity for growth relevant to Alberta’s agri-food growth targets.