It's been almost a decade of changes in immigration policy. Many of the changes in immigration have been ideological. As I said for theharperdecade.com:
The legacy of the Harper decade with respect to immigration law and policy will be characterized by the denigration of Canada's humanitarian tradition, confrontation with the Courts, dog whistle politics, and the ascendency of bottom-line driven immigration policy.
Part of the task of this new government is to appoint a capable Minister that understands the nature and extent of the changes made in the last ten years, and which changes and policies to retain and which ones to dispense with.
For Kenney, no crisis – real or created – was wasted as an opportunity to place the stamp of the Conservative brand on immigration. Indeed, there is no aspect of immigration policy that has gone untouched.
In no particular order, these are my predictions as to what a new Liberal government will tackle in this file.
1. Bill C-24, Strengthening Canadian ... never mind completing the oxymoronic title. This Act wasn't going to survive court challenge (for its problematic take on citizenship revocation) and those self-same aspects won't survive the next few months. The leadership is from the top "A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian" ...
2. Court challenges. This new government and a new Minister will undoubtedly discontinue some of the appeals the previous government stubbornly insisted on pursuing. This includes the Ishaq matter and the appeal against the finding by Justice Mactavish that the cuts to refugee health were "cruel and unusual" and contrary to the Charter. You can almost hear a collective sigh of relief from Department of Justice Lawyers.
3. Refugee policy. There have been worthwhile changes here. Members of the Refugee Protection Division are public servants and thus are not influenced by the end of their term and any hope for reappointment. Hearings are now done within weeks and months and not years. The backlog for in-Canada claims is gone. There are restrictions to eligibility to apply under humanitarian and compassionate grounds for failed refugee claimants (there are some exceptions, including whether there are any children affected) for a year along with a restriction on the Pre Removal Risk Assessment. These appear to be reasonable, given the access to an actual, real appeal mechanism (the Refugee Appeal Division) promised by the Liberals when IRPA was enacted more than a decade ago, but never delivered by them. The distinction (or discrimination) of appeal rights to individuals from so-called Safe Countries has been struck down by the Federal Court; I believe that there are plans to significantly tighten such designations in any event (and remove political considerations from same).
I am expecting a move away from the stinginess that characterized the Harper Decade on refugees. Chris Alexander did not know how many Syrian refugees there were in Canada last year; we'll now step up to our moral obligations to the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation.
4. The Harper Government (TM) brand required that it was always seen to be tough on crime. This resulted in the execrably titled Faster Removal of Foreign Criminals Act. I outlined my concerns with it here.I am expecting some changes to this law which doesn't differentiate between the length of time a permanent resident has been here nor the nature of the criminal offence, looking only to the length of the sentence imposed (6 months or more incarceral term as well as if the sentence is to be served in the community). The emphasis on enforcement may well continue and should continue. Canadians have little patience with immigration fraud (including marriage fraud, citizenship residency fraud, etc.)
5. Express Entry. I am expecting either a dedicated stream for international students and skilled temporary foreign workers or a re-weighting of those points within Express Entry to give them a leg up.
6. Low Skill Temporary Foreign Workers. This stream was first introduced by the Liberal Government B.H. (Before Harper) and was a limited program; it grew exponentially under the Harper Government. It has been reigned in. Neither of those governments saw fit to provide a pathway to permanent residency to the tens of thousands of foreign workers that work here, pay taxes here, are our neighbours and would like a better life for themselves and their children. I am hoping for a pathway that balances economic considerations as well as what I would term a moral duty to our workers.
7. Family Class Reunification. I believe that their platform already involves doubling the present cap from 5,000 applications per year to 10,000. There are a number of problems with the way that this program is currently administered. One is that it's first come and first serve. I know that's what's in Canadian DNA, however, this is not fair for a number of reasons. Firstly, we live in a huge country and someone in Vancouver will have a harder time getting their hard copy in to CPC Mississauga than someone in Brampton. Secondly, the new program requires 3 clear years of meeting LICO plus 30%. Having the intake in and complete within a few days of the new year means that people can't actually rely on their most recent tax year. As a result, I would propose that the new government allow individuals to submit applications for 6 months, after which 5,000 complete applications will be drawn via a lottery set up. This would allow the use of the most recent tax year, it would mean that families (and law firms) are not working around the clock near the end of the year (just in case immigration forms change last minute) and allow the signature of said forms (from applicants that live around the world) and do it in a logical manner. Look for the popular "Super Visa" to remain intact.
8. The "tone". No Minister that I can recall ever used the term "bogus refugee" for someone fleeing persecution, prior to the determination of their claims. Jason Kenney started using this nonsense term and, following in his footsteps, so did Chris Alexander. That, and attacks on the judiciary, disparaging comments regarding the Canadian Bar Association and individual lawyers will obviously not continue.
9. The Barbaric Cultural Practices something or another Act which brought widespread ridicule on social media is obviously gone going to be amended. Steven Meurrens from Larlee Rosenberg points out that the Liberals actually voted for this atrociously entitled legislation. I'll assume some buyer's remorse is occurring on a number of fronts, including this Act, and of course Bill C-51. In terms of the promised "snitch line" that at least will not materialize. No further comment is necessary other than if you see your neighbour committing a criminal act you need to call the already existing hot line which is 911.
10. The long form census. No doubt it'll be back and provide us with valuable information about immigrants, their challenges and success (h/t my tweep Ziad Fazel).
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