MP Advocates For Immigrants Affected by Travel Ban

“No Justification” For Making Immigrants Wait, Says Bloc MP

A Canadian Member of Parliament wrote that there’s “no justification” for a technicality stopping legally-accepted immigrants from coming into Canada.

Particularly, Canada is denying entry to immigrants whose purposes for everlasting residence in Canada have been accepted. Hundreds of immigrants have confronted this challenge due to non permanent journey restrictions put in place when the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Christine Normandin, who represents the Saint-Jean electoral district as MP from the Bloc Québécois  occasion, wrote a letter calling for the federal authorities to take motion.

Within the letter, addressed to Immigration Minister Marco Mendocino, Normandin wrote that “there doesn’t seem like a well being justification” for the choice, and that “[the] scenario sends the improper message to immigrants.”

These immigrants have already obtained their Affirmation of Everlasting Residence (COPR). Because of this they’ve accomplished the everlasting residence course of, which incorporates passing medical exams, federal safety checks, and security checks.

Usually, a COPR would enable immigrants to enter Canada. Those that obtained their COPR after March 18, 2020, can’t enter, nonetheless, resulting from journey restrictions put in place following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of them are subsequently caught  within the nation they’d in any other case have been in a position to go away.

Within the letter, Normandin writes:

“Many concern the expiration of their COPRs and the necessity to begin the method another time, with the prices of medical examinations and felony background checks that this entails, which may be pricey, particularly for a household.”

When the pandemic started, Canada initially closed its borders with intentions to reopen them on June 30, 2020. This date has been indefinitely prolonged, and there was no clear assertion pointing to when immigrants with COPRs shall be let in.

Normandin wrote that the choice to not let these immigrants enter Canada will create long-term issues for the immigration system and for the officers themselves.

“Except the restrictions for COPR holders start to be lifted quickly, we perceive that with the prevailing admission thresholds, it is going to be troublesome to make up for the misplaced time when the borders lastly open, leading to delays within the admission of information which are nonetheless pending,” she wrote. “We’re additionally involved that this may place an extra burden on immigration officers if, whereas ready for the restrictions to be lifted, candidates are required to bear repeat medical examinations and felony background checks, which officers will then must reassess.”

Arghavan Gerami

Arghavan Gerami is the Founder and Senior Counsel at Gerami Legislation Skilled Company (‘PC’), a full-service immigration regulation agency in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2011, Ms. Gerami has targeted her apply on immigration and refugee litigation. Previous to that, Ms. Gerami labored on the Ministry of Legal professional Basic and the Division of Justice and had the privilege of serving the Honourable Mr. Justice M. Evans on the Federal Court docket of Attraction on immigration and administrative regulation appeals. Ms. Gerami contributes to the Immigration Legislation Part of the Canadian Bar Affiliation, the Canadian Affiliation of Refugee Attorneys, and the United Nations Excessive Commissioner for Refugees. Ms. Gerami has additionally revealed quite a few journal articles and introduced at varied immigration and refugee regulation conferences and occasions throughout Canada.