カナダ永住権: 新移民法, "個人移民カテゴリー": Passmark 改定: Ottawa admits defeat, opens door to potential immigrants The lawsuits force reassessment of thousands of applications * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Class-action lawsuits filed by a group of Vancouver lawyers have forced Ottawa to re-assess the immigration applications of hundreds of thousands of people hoping to become Canadians. Immigration Minister Denis Coderre conceded defeat Thursday in the cases of thousands of would-be immigrants who cried foul over a sudden policy change in June of last year that stiffened the requirements and cut the number of new immigrants in half. Coderre's decision to re-evaluate all those who applied under the old rules could affect 400,000 applicants and is likely to break the dam that has slowed immigration over the past year. Each year, Canada aims to accept about one per cent of our population from around the world. Last year, we took in 70 per cent of that target, or 229,000 immigrants, mainly from China, India and Pakistan. Rudolf Kischer, one of six Vancouver lawyers who has been fighting the rule change, said Thursday's ruling is a huge victory. "It is a major event for a lot of people. It changes their entire life," Kischer said. Up until last June, a hopeful immigrant needed 70 points -- based on education, work experience, language proficiency and marital status -- to be allowed into the country. On June 28, 2002, the requirement jumped to 75 points. But Coderre announced Thursday that the pass mark has been reduced to 67 points, effective immediately. With the 75-point pass mark, a 40-year-old with a bachelor's degree, three years of work experience and moderate proficiency in English would fail by eight points. Lawrence Wong, another Vancouver lawyer representing angry potential immigrants, said part of the reason Coderre backed down was because statistics proved the new immigration rules were too tough. "The new system [was] not working out in the sense that the government [was] not getting the number of immigrants it has to get each year because the threshold [was] set too high," Wong said. "Since the implementation of the new regulations, the numbers have basically dropped by 50 per cent worldwide in terms of intake ... in some places, like China mostly, it's close to an 80-per-cent drop." The requirements were so stiff that neither Bill Gates nor Albert Einstein would have had enough points if they were single, according to Richard Kurland, a Vancouver immigration lawyer who fought the changes from day one. Coderre's announcement means Einstein, Gates, and the 40-year-old with a bachelor's degree would all meet the requirements. The lawsuits that spurred these changes -- filed by six Vancouver lawyers and nine others across Canada -- represented thousands of immigration hopefuls who applied before Jan. 1, 2002, but were then informed they were being assessed according to the new, stricter guidelines established June 28, 2002. The lawyers were arguing the applicants should be assessed under the same requirements that existed when they applied, which amounted to a pass mark of 70 points. "[The applicants] basically had the rug pulled out from under them as Canada basically changed the goal posts in the middle of the game," Kischer said. Now, those people will be assessed according to the old 70-point criteria, and if they are denied entry under that grid, they will be re-evaluated on the new 67-point system. Kischer said the government's stubborn stance on the issue was "unbelievably and incredibly arrogant." "It was totally unfair and [the federal government was] going to keep the money." Each adult applicant pays about $1,475 in processing and landing fees, none of which is returned if the person is denied entry. For many people in developing countries, the application amount is equal to about three months' salary, Kischer said. In 2001, the immigration department made a profit of $125 million, Kurland said. Part of Coderre's difficulties stem from the fact that he and his ministry were not forthcoming with Parliament about those numbers. In February, a Federal Court judge ruled the ministry of citizenship and immigration had mislead Parliament about the number of people waiting to be processed when the rules changed in June, 2002. While Coderre said there were about 30,000 such applications, Kischer said it was more like 134,000 applications, representing nearly 400,000 people, because one application is often made on behalf of a family. In June, Kischer, Wong, Kurland and the thousands of people they represent won a major victory when the court granted the plaintiffs an injunction prohibiting the government from rejecting any applicant who was caught in the backlog until the case was decided. Coderre said Thursday the injunction forced him to make a change quickly. "The reason why I'm taking that decision today is honestly, with the injunction, I really felt that we had to find a settlement," he said. Minutes after Coderre made the announcement, Wong and the 14 other lawyers involved received a fax from the department of justice notifying them of the decision and asking when they might be available to discuss settlements. Wong said the settlements are not a major concern and will likely cover legal costs only. The primary victory was hearing Coderre admit defeat and knowing that hundreds of thousands of qualified immigrants will now be accepted into the country, Kischer said. "The decision is great. It means that the clients I'm representing, for the most part, will have everything that they asked for," he said. "It's a big sigh of relief for them. A lot of them were very nervous and had been waiting for a long time." Message Ends.
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