In addition to a major refugee reform package he is trying to pass into law, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is also seeking to make it more difficult for Canadians to sponsor their genuine spouses, common law/conjugal partners, and adopted children.
This proposed regulation has been widely interpreted in recent media reports as an attempt to regulate “arranged marriages” which are common in many countries. In actuality, the proposed regulation can affect any Canadian who intends to sponsor their spouse/partner or their adopted child.
I think most Canadians would agree that Canadian citizens and permanent residents should be free to sponsor their spouses or adopted children so long as they don’t have any negative medical or criminal histories and provided that the relationships are “genuine.”
That is what the law currently says. If the applicant can prove to the satisfaction of an immigration officer that the relationship is “genuine,” then they can sponsor their life partner or adopted child — full stop.
Apparently, that is a problem for the Tories and Kenney.
On March 25, Kenney announced changes that would greatly muddy waters that are, at present, crystal clear.
Kenney would like to see the passage of a law that would deny Canadians the right to sponsor their life partner or adopted child, even where an officer is satisfied that the relationship is “genuine,” where it is found that the relationship “was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege” under our immigration laws.
Why are they doing this?
The intent of the revised “Regulation 4” is to “protect the integrity of the immigration program by preventing individuals from using relationships of convenience or bad faith relationships to circumvent the law.”
Huh? I know what you must be thinking — how can a relationship be in “bad faith” or how can we be “circumventing the law” if an officer is satisfied that the relationship in question is “genuine?”
Excellent question! Unfortunately, the department did not think to give us a single example of a situation, common or not, that it is trying to address. No estimates are given as to the number of “problem” relationships the department has witnessed or that it hopes to discourage.
In the absence of an official example, I will offer my own to illustrate the issue.
Let’s suppose a couple in India wish to marry off their daughter in a traditional arranged marriage. They would like a boy of a similar age and background, good-looking, educated, and from a good family. They would like their daughter to have a western education. They decide to limit their focus to suitors in Canada, where they have lots of relatives and where she would not be alone. They find a suitable boy in Toronto who comes highly recommended. The families meet, a wedding date is set, hundreds attend the wedding, and the couple is soon expecting their first child.
The immigration officer assessing the sponsorship determines that this relationship is “genuine.” Should the officer now refuse this application because the daughter entered into a relationship “primarily for acquiring [a] status or privilege” under our immigration laws when her parents limited their search for a boy in Canada?
Ridiculous!
Even if the department is targeting the rarest of relationships, i.e. one where an immigration officer concludes that a relationship was at on point “not genuine” but which is now “genuine,” why would we want to leave such a couple separated?
It seems our immigration officials have way too much time on their hands and should leave well enough alone. A genuine relationship is all that is needed now and all that should be needed in the foreseeable future.
Perhaps the minister and his officials should instead focus their attention on clearing a backlog of 60,000 refugee claims which they have recently identified in their very ambitious refugee reform package.
– Guidy Mamann practices law in Toronto at Mamann, Sandaluk and is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as an immigration specialist. For more information, visit www.migrationlaw.com or email metro@migrationlaw.com
