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On March 14, 2008 Canada\u2019s Conservative government proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). If passed, these changes would give the Minster of Immigration (the Minister) more power to control the number and type of people allowed into the country and the speed with which they may enter Canada.<\/p>\n
Under the current law, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is required to assess every permanent resident application received at a visa office, in a particular immigration category, on a \u201cfirst come, first served\u201d basis. The proposed modifications, if passed, would permit CIC to select among the new applications received and choose those that they determine best suit Canada\u2019s labour market requirements. Based on instructions received by the Minister, a new application could be processed quickly, held at the visa office for processing at a later time, or returned to the applicant along with government processing fees. A returned application would not be considered a refusal. Moreover, the Minister would be able to set limits on the types of immigrants (Federal Skilled Workers, for example) that can have their applications accepted for processing in a given year.<\/p>\n
CIC reiterates that Canada remains open to immigration and that the proposed amendments should not deter good candidates from applying at this time. The current passmark of 67 points, under the Federal Skilled Worker category, would not be affected by the proposed amendments.<\/p>\n
It is important to note that the proposed modifications are not currently in force and they will not be implemented unless and until they receive a majority vote of the House of Commons and the Senate, followed by Royal Assent. The Conservative Party heads a minority government and two of the three other political parties sitting in the Commons have indicated that they will vote against the amendments as they are now proposed. It remains to be seen whether the Liberal Party of Canada will support the Conservatives or vote to kill the proposed amendments. Second reading of the legislative bill is scheduled for March 31, 2008.<\/p>\n
The proposed legislation, if passed in its present form, will apply to all applications received at a visa office on or after February 27, 2008. <\/p>\n