06-06-12
Almost 280,000 skilled workers and prospective immigrants to Canada have been scorned by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and are making their grievances known to the federal government by challenging the Conservatives’ decision in court.
Early this March, Ottawa decided to purge its Federal Skilled Worker program of all applications received before 2008, justifying that the reform will necessarily allow the government to better serve all future applicants on the administrative front. The backlog presented an obstacle to their ability to prioritize Canadian work permits for skilled workers whose qualifications best suit the country’s current labour market demands.
Earlier this spring, the Conservatives’ decision ignited international fury, sparking protests in countries as far as Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Exasperated by the government’s decision, several Canadian immigrants have hired lawyers to combat CIC’s refusal of their applications, citing that the government reneged on its commitment to appraise their files in a timely manner. They have urged the government to keep their files open even after the federal budget bill passes to preserve their impending candidacy while the case is before the court.
Nevertheless, a federal judge ruled that Minister Kenney has no power under the existing law to keep the affected files open and that no court decision could change that. Further he explained that the courts only have a say in the matter only after the legislation has been ratified. However, the case will still be brought before the federal court in June.
For the latest updates concerning the Federal Skilled Worker backlog and other news pertaining to Canadian Immigration legislation, please consult our website’s news section or follow @FWCanada on twitter.
