CIMM Committee Report

LIS OF RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION 1

All skilled worker applications received before December 31, 2001 should be processed under the existing selection criteria until March 31, 2003.

RECOMMENDATION 2

Citizenship and Immigration Canada must make a corporate commitment to process its skilled worker inventory on a priority basis.

RECOMMENDATION 3

Staff at each post with a significant skilled worker inventory should reassess their general policies regarding personal interviews — when are they essential and when can they be waived.

RECOMMENDATION 4

Special teams ("SWAT" teams) should be used to clear backlogs at missions with large inventories to ensure that they are processed expeditiously and that applicants are not disadvantaged by their place of application.

RECOMMENDATION 5

In the interests of fairness and equity, the government should increase the resources dedicated to processing the applications of skilled workers in order to minimize the impact of the revised selection criteria on the skilled worker inventory.

RECOMMENDATION 6

The requirement that an applicant complete a specified total number of years of study when assessing educational credentials should be eliminated.

RECOMMENDATION 7

Fifteen points should be awarded for diplomas, trade certificates and apprenticeships that require one or two years of full-time studies, and an additional five points should be awarded to applicants in this group who have a high school diploma.

RECOMMENDATION 8

An applicant with two or more undergraduate degrees should be awarded 25 points under the education criterion.

RECOMMENDATION 9

"Full-time" in relation to studies or training should be defined as at least 12 hours of instruction per week, and should include co-op programs.

RECOMMENDATION 10

Four levels of language ability should be included in the point grid: high proficiency, moderate proficiency, basic proficiency and no ability.

RECOMMENDATION 11

Twelve points should be awarded for moderate proficiency and four points should be awarded for basic proficiency in the applicant’s first official language.

RECOMMENDATION 12

The points awarded for high proficiency in the applicant’s second official language should be increased to eight, the points awarded for moderate proficiency should be increased to six and four points should be awarded for a basic proficiency in the second official language. The maximum total points available for language skills should remain at 20 with additional points being available under the adaptability criterion when an applicant has a high proficiency in both official languages.

RECOMMENDATION 13

Ten points should be awarded for applicants between 21 and 50 years of age, with a decrease of 2 points for each year younger or older.

RECOMMENDATION 14

Adaptability points should not be awarded for an informal job offer in Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 15

The maximum points available for adaptability should be increased from 10 to 15.

RECOMMENDATION 16

Five points should be awarded under adaptability for those who do not have arranged employment in Canada but who would otherwise meet the requirements of special sectoral agreements, such as the pilot project for software professionals.

RECOMMENDATION 17

Seven points should be awarded under adaptability for those who can satisfy an immigration officer that they intend to settle in a region of low immigration. This should be monitored for effectiveness on an ongoing basis.

RECOMMENDATION 18

Five points should be awarded under adaptability for those who have the support of a local community organization and can provide a settlement plan.

RECOMMENDATION 19

Five points should be awarded under adaptability for those who have previously visited Canada, provided they have not received points for previous study or work in Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 20

Four points should be awarded under adaptability for those who demonstrate a high proficiency in their second official language.

RECOMMENDATION 21

Following the adjustment of the selection system criteria as the Committee has recommended, the pass mark should be set at 70 points.

RECOMMENDATION 22

After two years, the Department should analyze the impact of the changes to the grid and the pass mark and report its findings to Parliament.

RECOMMENDATION 23

Clause 64(1)(b) should be amended to provide that the minimum settlement funds required for skilled worker applicants and their family members should be sufficient to support them for a period of six months after they enter Canada, not one year, using the LICO figures.

RECOMMENDATION 24

Clause 65 regarding the continuing applicability of the selection criteria should be redrafted to state that the selection system and pass mark in effect at the time of an application must be used at all processing points, and to clarify which of the criteria must continue to be met at the time the visa is issued.

RECOMMENDATION 25

All applications for permanent residence in Canada should clearly indicate that to work in one’s profession or trade, accreditation or certification from a licensing body may be required and that applicants should contact the appropriate agencies to determine their likelihood of obtaining such accreditation or certification.

RECOMMENDATION 26

The federal government should provide assistance to the regulatory bodies that govern admission to skilled trades and professions in Canada to determine foreign equivalencies and to facilitate the entry of skilled worker immigrants into the labour market.

RECOMMENDATION 27

The recognition of foreign credentials should be given priority when the federal and provincial governments meet to discuss immigration issues. Partnerships between the federal and provincial governments and licensing bodies should be pursued.

RECOMMENDATION 28

Undertakings for dependent children should last until the child is 19 years of age. For dependent children who are 19 and over at the time of their arrival in Canada, the undertaking should last for three years.

RECOMMENDATION 29

Sponsorship of a member of the family class by a sponsor on social assistance should be permitted where there is cogent and tangible evidence that the arrival of the family member is highly likely to enable the household to be self-supporting.

RECOMMENDATION 30

Receipt of social assistance should not bar single parents from sponsoring dependent children.

RECOMMENDATION 31

The minimum income required to sponsor members of the family class other than spouses, common-law partners and dependent children should remain at the low income cut-off figure relevant to where the sponsor lives.

RECOMMENDATION 32

Fiancé(e)s and intended common-law partners should be members of the family class.

RECOMMENDATION 33

The allowable reasons for excusing common-law partners from cohabiting should be expanded beyond "persecution" and "penal control." Proof of discrimination should be sufficient.

RECOMMENDATION 34

Officers assessing applications from common-law partners should take a flexible approach when assessing the length of time the individuals have cohabited. Cohabitation should be only one factor in determining the genuineness of a common-law relationship and the definition of "common-law partner" in clause 1 should be changed accordingly.

 

RECOMMENDATION 35

The definition of "common-law partner" in clause 1 should state that a partnership may be of the opposite sex or of the same sex.

RECOMMENDATION 36

Canadian citizens and permanent residents abroad should be permitted to sponsor relatives if they intend to return to Canada to reside.

RECOMMENDATION 37

The term "issue" instead of "biological child" should be used in the definition of "dependent child" in clause 1 of the regulations.

RECOMMENDATION 38

The current practice of allowing de facto family members to be landed with the rest of the family on humanitarian and compassionate grounds should continue.

RECOMMENDATION 39

Consideration should be given to extending concurrent processing of the family of a refugee selected abroad to those members of the family class in a dependent relationship with the refugee.

RECOMMENDATION 40

The Family Business Job Offer Program should be continued and should be included in the regulations.

RECOMMENDATION 41

Those granted refugee or protected person status by the IRB should be granted permanent resident status within 60 days of the receipt of their application for permanent residence, with the IRB’s determination of identity considered valid for this purpose.

RECOMMENDATION 42

The Undocumented Protected Persons in Canada Class should be eliminated.

RECOMMENDATION 43

The requirement of clause 136(1)(g) that a refugee overseas demonstrate an ability to become "economically established" should be changed to an ability to become "established."

RECOMMENDATION 44

Clause 136(1)(g) should be clarified to indicate that the factors indicating potential for establishment should be examined collectively so that a weakness in one area would not bar admission.

RECOMMENDATION 45

The Department should develop additional requirements regarding the contents of memoranda of understanding with referral agencies that will ensure procedural fairness in the referral process.

RECOMMENDATION 46

The definition of "durable solution" should be clarified and should not include involuntary resettlement in the country of nationality or habitual residence.

RECOMMENDATION 47

The filing deadline for Pre-Removal Risk Assessment submissions should be 30 days.

RECOMMENDATION 48

The regulations should provide that an oral Pre-Removal Risk Assessment hearing is required when an applicant is ineligible to have a protection claim heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board because a previous claim was withdrawn or abandoned.

RECOMMENDATION 49

The regulations should set out additional rules by which the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment may ensure protection against refoulement.

RECOMMENDATION 50

The definition of "excessive demand" should refer to age- and sex-related average Canadian per capita public health or social service costs.

RECOMMENDATION 51

The time period for the calculation of excessive demand on health or social services should not exceed five years.

RECOMMENDATION 52

Clause 29 should be redrafted to clarify that when an officer is assessing whether an applicant’s health condition is likely to be a danger to public health the degree of communicability of any disease the applicant has should be taken into account.

RECOMMENDATION 53

The considerations set out in the Ribic case should be included in the regulations as the criteria to be used when determining whether a permanent resident sentenced to more than two years should be referred to an admissibility hearing.

RECOMMENDATION 54

Applicants should be permitted to apply for a visa at any Canadian immigration mission abroad.

RECOMMENDATION 55

Foreign nationals who are legally in Canada should be permitted to apply to a CIC office within Canada for a study permit.

RECOMMENDATION 56

People in Canada on a work permit should be permitted to apply for permanent residence at a CIC office within Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 57

As recommended in our December 2001 report on border security, there should be relaxed landing requirements for applications made on humanitarian and compassionate grounds for people illegally in Canada who can demonstrate that they pose no risk to the country and are self-sufficient. CIC should create a proposal for implementing this recommendation for review by the Committee.

RECOMMENDATION 58

The regulations should permit applications to restore status to be made within 90 days of the expiration of the individual’s status.

RECOMMENDATION 59

The regulations should provide that permanent residents comply with the residency obligation of section 28 of the Act if they are outside of Canada for the purpose of studies at a post-secondary institution, to care for a close relative who is sick, or if they are prevented from returning to Canada due to circumstances beyond their control, such as armed conflict or forced military conscription.

RECOMMENDATION 60

The information required to apply for a permanent resident card should be targeted only to issues of identity and residency.

RECOMMENDATION 61

To enhance the security of the new permanent resident card, the government should introduce a biometric identifier once it is satisfied that the appropriate safeguards are in place.

RECOMMENDATION 62

Citizenship and Immigration Canada should treat the licensing of immigration consultants as a matter of priority. To that end, it should proceed with the groups representing consultants on the development and implementation of the College of Immigration Practitioners and implement this Committee’s 1995 Report.

RECOMMENDATION 63

Immigration and Refugee Board rules should provide as much latitude as possible for intervenors before the Refugee Appeal Division so that their expertise can be fully utilized.

RECOMMENDATION 64

The Immigration and Refugee Board should consider whether it would be appropriate for the rules to provide for intervenor participation before all divisions of the Board.

RECOMMENDATION 65

Clauses 108, 110 and 112 dealing with humanitarian and compassionate considerations should be redrafted to clarify their intent.

RECOMMENDATION 66

A non-exhaustive list of important factors that could be relevant to a humanitarian and compassionate decision should be included in the regulations.

RECOMMENDATION 67

To avoid a chilling effect on children’s access to education, the regulations should include provisions to clarify for school authorities the intent of the Act regarding the education of minor children.

RECOMMENDATION 68

Citizenship and Immigration Canada should develop clear procedures for school authorities to follow so that all minor children who are eligible may be enrolled in school. These should be communicated to school authorities.

RECOMMENDATION 69

The entrepreneur and investor programs should remain unchanged and each application should be judged on its own merits without reference to a set standard.

RECOMMENDATION 70

The self-employed category should be broadened to include others who are capable of creating their own employment in Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 71

Clause 256 of the regulations relating specifically to the detention of minor children should restate the principle that a minor child shall be detained only as a last resort.

RECOMMENDATION 72

The regulations should be reviewed to ensure that they more accurately reflect that principle.

RECOMMENDATION 73

A reference to section 40(1)(d) of the Act should be added to clause 234 of the proposed regulations so that an inadmissibility report resulting from the loss of citizenship that had been fraudulently obtained would not need to be referred to the Immigration Division for a hearing, and a deportation order could be issued immediately.

RECOMMENDATION 74

Before the regulations come into force, they should be reviewed for clarity of language and for concordance between the English and French texts.

RECOMMENDATION 75

The regulations should be amended to clearly indicate that a vehicle’s lawful owner who did not participate in the fraudulent use of the vehicle, and who had no reasonable grounds to believe that it would be so used, will have their vehicle returned without any fee or payment.

RECOMMENDATION 76

Further consultation should be undertaken by the Department with interested parties in respect of Tranche 2 of the regulations.