Know about Immigration Advisers

source: Toronto Star

You don’t necessarily need anyone to help you with your immigration application. Helpful information and all forms can be downloaded from Canada’s official immigration website (http://cic.gc.ca). Unfortunately, this information is in English or French only.
• If you decide you need help, you can retain either a lawyer or a registered member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC), who will charge for their services. Consultants are not necessarily cheaper than lawyers. Lawyers do not necessarily do a better job than consultants. A lawyer or consultant who has a poor reputation with officials could damage your chances. Fees can vary a lot. So shop around. Ask other immigrants for recommendations. Talk to several potential advisers. Ask for references.
• You can also seek free help from a reputable not-for-profit group. Not-for-profit groups cannot ask for money beyond applicable government fees. (These fees are listed on the website)
• Ask prospective advisers:
• Do they use an agent to complete the work?
• What qualifications and experience do they have?
• What services will they provide, and what are the fees?

For lawyers:
• Are they authorized by a Canadian provincial or territorial law society, or the Chambre des notaires du Quebec?

For consultants:
• Do they belong to CSIC?
• Beware of anything that seems too good to be true, such as very low service fees. That may indicate that little effort will be put into your case. Expect to pay $3,000 for help with an application requiring supporting materials, such as a refugee claim or a humanitarian and compassionate application, and less for work permits, visa extensions and family sponsorships.
• Negotiate a written agreement that says precisely what services will be provided and gives a clear breakdown of fees for each. Have the consultant or lawyer sign a retainer (form: IMM5476) that is available on Immigration Canada’s website. Make sure you keep a copy. It’s good to bring in a friend or relative who knows English or French to interpret.
• Never leave original identification documents with a consultant or lawyer.
• Ask for receipts and copies of all documents in your file. There is no good reason for a consultant or lawyer not to issue these.
• Never base a claim on lies, even if your adviser suggests it. It is your file, and you are responsible for what is in it. Remember that you are paying your adviser for a professional assessment of your application, not to tell you what you would like to hear.
• Be aware that Canada does not have an amnesty program for people here illegally. Be careful of anyone who claims something different.
• If you have a problem with your representative, you can file a complaint:

If the person is:
1. Not properly authorized to represent you in Canada: File a complaint with the Canadian Council of Better Business Bureaus (www.ccbbb.ca).
2. A local agent for a lawyer or a CSIC member: Discuss the complaint with the authorized person, who is ultimately responsible for the services.
3. A member of a Canadian law society: click here for link for a list of societies and then go to the appropriate website for more information. In Ontario: the Law Society of Upper Canada (see website or call 416-947-3310 or 800-268-7568).
4. A member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants: click here for link
5. A Quebec lawyer or notary: click here for link
6. If your immigration representative committed an illegal act, such as submitting fraudulent documentation on your application, contact the Immigration office that is processing your file, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

From: Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, various consultants, lawyers and immigrant advocacy groups; Toronto Star research.

Oil attracts Migration in Canada in a Century

source: news.sawf.org

Not since the late 1800s when tens of thousands of Europeans settled in Canada's wild west have so many people migrated here, but recent newcomers are still too few to abate a growing demand for oil industry workers. Western Alberta province sits atop an estimated 175 billion barrels of oil, ranking second behind Saudi Arabia in petroleum reserves.

But due to high extraction costs, the deposits were long neglected except by local companies. Since 2000, skyrocketing crude prices and improved extraction technologies have lured significant foreign investment that has pushed oil sands production to one million barrels per day. And, according to a recent Alberta Energy and Utilities Board report, output is expected to triple over the next decade, making Alberta one of the biggest energy producers in the world. But a shortage of skilled workers, despite attracting 57,000 migrants from across Canada and 20,000 immigrants from abroad to the province last year, is now threatening to curb its unprecedented economic growth, say officials. "Right now, we know that in the next 10 years, we'll need some 400,000 workers and even if we are educating more and attracting more, we'll still be short about 109,000," Iris Evans, Alberta's minister of employment, immigration and industry, told AFP. The province's unemployment rate has fallen below 4.0 percent to its lowest level ever. To fill job vacancies, Canada is now looking to boost the number of temporary worker permits issued for Alberta's booming oil sands industry, and is aggressively recruiting foreign workers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. "We recognize that without immigration, we are not going to meet our expectations," Evans said.

But labor bosses have expressed concern that foreign workers are vulnerable to being exploited by unscrupulous employers. On its website, the Alberta Federation of Labor says, "some employers take advantage of these workers by not paying them fairly, charging high rents and making unfair demands." "They are new to Canada and unfamiliar with our rules, customs and, often, language. They are dependent upon their employer for their visa, their work and often their housing and transportation," the union says. To complicate matters, housing is in very short supply here, and there are not enough tradespeople to build more homes to meet growing demand. "Fort McMurray is a great place to live if you can find a place to live," says Pascal, a new arrival from Quebec province, sitting in front of his camper in a trailer park a few kilometers (miles) from Canada's oil sands capital. The campground is home to hundreds of oil industry workers, and hundreds more are on a waiting list to get in, willing to pay monthly fees comparable to the cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto, Canada's largest metropolis, to park their own mobile homes in a dirt field - about 865 US dollars monthly. The population of Fort McMurray, about 700 kilometers (450 miles) north of Calgary, has doubled to 65,000 since 1996, and could triple in the next decade.

Fort McMurray mayor Melissa Blake said the local shelter is overcrowded and many newcomers are unable to find any lodging. "There has always been homelessness in our community. With all those people coming in you expect more of that, but what is actually happening is that the nature of our homeless people has changed. We have people working, earning money and they still cannot access affordable housing," she said. Blake blames a lack of funding from the province, which generates oil sands royalties, for lagging municipal services too. Pascal's abode is austere, but the campground is a bargain compared to the cost of renting an apartment in Fort McMurray, which, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing, boasts the highest average rental costs in the country - up to 3,500 US dollars per month. His neighbor Steve, from eastern Ontario province, however, has had enough of living poor while earning a small fortune in the oil sector. He also complained about the widespread sale of narcotics and prostitution that high wages and small town boredom attracts, not to mention the freezing cold. "I'm getting... out of here," he told AFP. "It was minus 47 (degrees Celsius) in the winter and these... trailers are not made for that kind of cold."

Watchdog needs Teeth - Lessons and Solutions

source: Toronto Star

People who hope to call Canada home often seek advice from immigration consultants to fulfil their dreams. But consultants who are incompetent, negligent or unscrupulous can destroy dreams, tarnish Canada's image, and burden taxpayers by clogging the system with applicants who don't stand a chance. Three years after Ottawa set up a self-regulating body meant to clean up the lucrative industry and protect vulnerable newcomers, a Star investigation finds that little has changed. The regulatory body says the future looks bright, but it lacks a big stick.

Offering immigration advice in Britain without proper credentials will land you in court, facing a fine and up to two years in prison. The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner – a public body created in 2001 to police the industry – has the power to knock down doors. There have been 55 successful prosecutions. Nearly one in five went to jail. Its investigators, 10 former police officers, go after "ghost" advisers – people who charge for their services but are undetected because they don't sign documents – and charge them with a criminal offence. But along with wielding a big stick, the office also proffers a carrot. Some illegal operators are simply persuaded to go legit and join. Last year, the commission identified 690 suspect operations. In two-thirds, they either got the people on-board, heard satisfactory explanations, or closed the shop. "We say, `Are you going to join us? We'll love you and support you and make you feel good because you'll be part of the legitimate. Or, we'll prosecute you. Make a choice.'" That's how Commissioner Suzanne McCarthy explained the program last month in Toronto at the first annual conference of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC) – to much applause.

Compare that to Canada's oversight body, which has only a limp carrot – membership in the fledgling society – and no stick to prevent "ghost" consultants from doing as they please. While registered members of CSIC (currently 1,068) pay annual dues of $2,067 and are ostensibly subject to standards and codes of conduct, the ghosts pay nothing – and follow no rules. CSIC was formed three years ago to clean up an industry with a bad reputation. Its architects considered the British model but ultimately chose one more like Australia's, a government-endorsed body set up as a corporation. They did not insist on a law making it illegal to charge fees for providing immigration advice without being a member. That thwarts any hope of bringing down unethical or incompetent consultants – or protecting the rights of Canadians and newcomers alike. The harshest penalty a rogue consultant faces from Citizenship and Immigration Canada is a refusal to deal with him, or his files. And that mostly penalizes clients, who can get letters from immigration threatening them with becoming inadmissible for using an unauthorized representative.

And there are lots of ghosts – as many as 5,000, according to one estimate – operating beyond its reach in Canada. Plus an unknown number abroad. "I'm not going to gloss over it," says CSIC's chair and one of its founders, John Ryan. "There's a considerable number of people who are trying to circumvent the regulations; as in any system, people are trying to get around it. It's just the way things are." Without the power to lay penalties, CSIC is reduced to such measures as pleading with ethnic newspapers to run ads only from CSIC members. "The whole issue of discipline and enforcement is a multi-jurisdictional one," Ryan said in an interview. He says it's up to Ottawa – the RCMP, Immigration, the Immigration and Refugee Board, and Canada Border Services – to do their part. "We certainly govern the activities of our members." In interviews with the Star, everyone – from CSIC and a consulting lobby group, to advocacy groups and the RCMP – agreed there are better ways of protecting the people they all agree are most vulnerable: the clients. Here are some possible solutions:

Criminalize ghosting: Francisco Rico-Martinez, former CSIC board member and founder of Faithful Companions of Jesus Refugee Centre, says his not-for-profit group spends about 30 per cent of its time dealing with the fallout from bad advice and poor work performed by consultants, many but not all of them unregistered. "This is a serious pain in the ass," Rico-Martinez says in an interview at the west Toronto centre that is also his home. "And neither CSIC nor the Mounties are able to do much about it," he says. "You don't have a way to catch them." Anyone who complains to Immigration Canada about a consultant will be referred to the Mounties, who are supposed to enforce the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, but the focus is on human trafficking and smuggling. The RCMP do not bust consultants simply for operating outside regulations. Investigations of unregistered advisers are rare and difficult, and must involve fraud, such as misrepresenting the facts on an immigration application, or counselling someone to enter a "marriage of convenience."

Usually, it takes a lot of money or multiple victims to be worth the effort. "If you steal $100,000, the RCMP might not be interested," says Phil Mooney, president of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants. "If you steal $1 million, they might come." The architects of CSIC did ponder making unregistered consulting a criminal offence, but felt a vaguely worded provision in existing immigration law – which would charge clients for failing to disclose that they had used a representative – would work. It has not. CSIC designers also figured that because so many consultants work in other countries, a Criminal Code provision wouldn't have much effect. "We're in a bad situation," says Rico-Martinez, who was a lawyer back in his native El Salvador. "The only way is to be very strong with these guys."

Find the will: Changing law requires political will. CSIC's founders chose the self-regulatory model in part because it was the path of least resistance: It required no major changes in law, posed no legal liability to Ottawa. And at a cost of $1.2 million in federal seed money – or about a dollar for every immigrant who arrived in Canada over the past five years – it was cheap. In a post-9/11 environment, Ottawa also saw it as a way to fight the perception that our borders are porous. "Incidences of fraud and other questionable practices should be greatly reduced, while at the same time increasing the Canada Border Services Agency's ability to meet its immigration enforcement mandate," Anne McLellan, then minister of public safety, said in a news release just before CSIC was launched in April 2004. "With these new regulations, everyone will have access to accredited, qualified and ethical representation," immigration minister Judy Sgro said in the same release. Now in Opposition, Sgro did not respond to the Star's requests to talk about CSIC. Nor did her successor, Joe Volpe, whose assistant said he had "no interest" in doing so. Current minister Diane Finley never responded. The Immigration and Refugee Board also had nothing to say about CSIC's progress.

The lack of interest may suggest where immigration ranks in the priorities on Parliament Hill. "They change immigration ministers as often as some people change underwear," complains Ben Trister, past CSIC chair and one of its architects. "It's hard to get (them) to fully apprise themselves of the pros and cons and the history of an organization." In the early days, the immigration department had a representative at CSIC board meetings. But the department representative was pulled out in March 2006, just months after turmoil on the board over financial management and governance concerns became public fodder. According to a spokesperson, the department felt its "presence at board meetings was not necessary any more." Now, CSIC has only a reporting relationship to the government. Because federal seed money was involved, it must provide updates on finances, administration and other developments. The immigration department wouldn't say how it felt about the society's performance. Evaluating CSIC is a job for its members, a spokesperson said. CSIC executives told the Star they consider the department a "partner" and have a good relationship. Trister says the department could and should monitor CSIC more closely and more actively protect immigration applicants – but doesn't, in part, because many consultants are former immigration officers (one in four, by one estimate). Trister says the other part is simply that "They don't care enough about this file. "That's regrettable."

Educate the customer: Googling Canada, immigration and information produces 12.5 million hits. Only a minute fraction lead to a government website. The vast majority take you to consultants, recruiters and agents who make their pitch in a Babel of languages. Do the same search in Spanish, and neither the government site nor CSIC shows up in the first 100 hits. You will, however, find many Latin American websites touting life in Canada. Getting out the "official" message is a challenge, yet the only real hope for protecting prospective migrants from bad advisers lies in educating a global audience. CSIC provides limited information on its website, in eight languages. Immigration Canada's site is solely English and French. Both agree more could be done. Ryan says CSIC is committed to "empowering the consumers by educating them," and has placed ads in ethnic papers.

The RCMP has begun sending officers to community meetings to share advice they hope will spread to would-be migrants. "People are victimized because they don't know the system," says RCMP Cpl. Kevin Gibson. "They go on the Internet, they find somebody, they send the money, they get ripped off ... "Education is a way to help disrupt these criminals from doing their jobs." There are reasons to be optimistic. CSIC's newest members are graduates of approved college programs and must pass language proficiency and knowledge tests. Members must fulfill yearly professional development requirements. Its disciplinary system is finally up and running. "We've really matured," says CSIC's Ryan, a former immigration officer. "We've ramped up an entire regulatory body in three years." Phil Mooney, president of the industry group CAPIC and a consultant, says: "Give us a little time. In a year, consumers will see a difference." Ben Trister takes a more doubtful view. A lawyer who co-founded the society and later quit the CSIC board amid internal disputes, he believes Canada is no further ahead than it was three years ago. But he sees some reason for hope that migrants will be better served.

"The best solution is to ensure competency of the profession, with initial passing of exams, continuing education programs, re-testing people," he says. "If you do that, you're solving a huge part of the problem." Others don't believe the industry will ever mature to the point where it is deserving of self-regulation. "We're trying to make an occupation into a profession," says Rico-Martinez, another CSIC founding member who resigned in 2005. "They are representing people in a very specific area of the law. The training is very flexible, the experience and moral implications are very flexible as well." For now, consulting remains very much a business, not unlike that of a real estate agent. Both sell homes, but in the case of consultants, poor advice can lead to more than a missed opportunity. "Many of those who seek immigration advice are very vulnerable," the U.K. immigration commissioner, Suzanne McCarthy, reminded Canadian consultants at their recent gathering. "They may be frightened that if they rock the boat, they're going to be removed. Such people are very easy targets for exploitation. "That's why there's a need for good immigration advisers who are fit and competent, that's why my office is necessary in the U.K. ... "Bad immigration advice," she said, "ruins lives."

Faster Review of Foreign Credentials

source: Canadian Mining Journal, 6/10/2007

The Canadian government has launched the first phase of its new FOREIGN CREDENTIALS REFERRAL OFFICE (FCRO) designed to help internationally trained engineers and other professionals to get their credentials assessed and recognized quickly so that they may work in this country. A budget of $32.2 million has been set aside for the initial five years of operation. This news should be welcome in the mining industry, which has been experiencing a shortage of skilled professionals. At the announcement of the new FCRO in Vancouver on May 24, Polly Nahar spoke of her four-year quest to get her credentials from the former Soviet Union recognized in Canada despite having 17 years experience as an engineer in Bangladesh. Her story has a happy ending: she joined AMEC, the international project management and engineering services company, a year ago and is working in the oil sands.

‘There is a disconnect between immigration and industry,” said Nahar. “If a government reviews your credentials and states your expertise is needed, a professional should not have to go through the entire process again to become accredited after arriving in Canada. Hopefully [the FCRO] will help others avoid the painful labyrinth that causes so many skilled people to give up and become minimum wage earners.” The FCRO’s approach will include in-person services, a dedicated phone service (888-854-1805), an expanding online service (www.Credentials.gc.ca), and overseas pilot projects. It plans to have 320 outlets across Canada by fall 2007. When the online service is fully functional, it will help individuals identify occupations for which they may be qualified, provide labour market information and refer them to the appropriate regulatory body. The office will also attempt to increase employer awareness of the benefits of hiring internationally trained professionals.

Think you're Canadian? Think again

Imagine spending 60 years in Canada raising a family and paying taxes, only to find out you're not a Canadian citizen. That's exactly what happened to Marion Galbraith of Dartmouth when she applied for a passport in March so she could travel to England and visit family. She couldn't believe it when she was turned down because, as the clerk at the passport office explained, she was not a Canadian citizen. "I started to laugh, and I said, 'You're kidding me, aren't you?'" Galbraith said. She's just one of hundreds of Canadians who have found out they're not actually citizens through sections of the 1947 Citizenship Act. It affects the wives and children of Canadian soldiers who were born abroad, and many others who fall under a variety of categories. Galbraith and her sister were born in England, the children of a war bride and a Canadian soldier. The family moved to Canada when Galbraith was three. "They were born before Canadian citizenship existed, and they weren't born in Canada," said Marina Wilson, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada. "She was born outside of the country before the act was in place, so she didn't qualify," she added. Nearly three months after discovering the startling news, Galbraith is still fighting - and waiting - for her official citizenship papers. She's spent countless hours filling out various applications and has forked over hundreds of dollars. Though she could travel with a British passport, she's postponed her trip till August.

Her sister, Annette Piccott, didn't fully believe there was a problem. Then she found she wasn't a Canadian citizen when she applied for her Old Age Security pension and received a letter stating she wouldn't receive money without proof of citizenship. Galbraith wants others to know they could be in the same boat. "The only way I found out is Lisa and (husband) Doug buying me a surprise ticket to take me back (to England) after 60 years." The situation saddens and frustrates Galbraith's daughter, Lisa Cochrane. "My mother has never been outside of Canada travelling," Cochrane said. "She's a homebody." Cochrane said her mother was so excited when she learned about the trip planned for the beginning of June that she had her suitcase packed by March. The two gave testimony this week during a Parliamentary hearing of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, which is considering recommendations for possible legislation in the fall that could help these "lost Canadians" and grant them citizenship. But Galbraith worries the proposed legislation would not take into account people born abroad before 1947, like herself and her sister. "What about those people from '46 and '45 and '44?" she said. At this point, the government considers those born before 1947 on a case-by-case basis, Cochrane said.