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Canada's refugee and immigration laws need an overhaul Why do we have the world's highest acceptance rate? http://www2.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=5ec06b90 JULIE TAUB | The Gazette Saturday, August 01, 2009 Canada's immigration and refugee system is broken. The Immigration and Refugee Act is innately flawed and has created a dangerously dysfunctional immigration system in Canada. The law is fraught with loopholes and lax rules that encourage fraud, pose security threats to Canada and facilitate illegal immigration while creating roadblocks to legitimate refugee claimants and immigrants. Thousands of permanent residents and Canadians have been victims of immigration fraud as a result. I know about this. As a former member of the Immigration and Refugee Board and an experienced immigration lawyer, whose clients include refugee claimants, family sponsors, and immigration applicants, I have first-hand knowledge of Canada's immigration system. The refugee system is particularly dysfunctional. I applaud Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's attempt to plug some of the loopholes, but it reminds me of the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike. Requiring visas for citizens of the Czech Republic and Mexico is a necessary stop- gap measure to curtail the crush of bogus refugee claimants. In the case of Czechs, citizens of any European Union country have the right to live and work in any of the other 26 countries. Therefore there is no justification for any EU citizen to make a refugee claim in Canada. As for Mexico, NAFTA regulates trade and commerce among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Mexicans wishing to travel to the United States must obtain visas and Canada has just recently imposed the same requirement. It is well known that Mexican drug cartels have successfully expanded into the U.S. states that border Mexico. It is not surprising that 90 per cent of Mexican claims have been denied, but just to get to that stage can take up to 18 months. A denied claim is almost meaningless due to the myriad of appeals that are available to unsuccessful claimants, who can remain in Canada for years. The vast majority of Mexican claimants are not refugees but economic migrants who want a better life in Canada, but that is not a basis for making a refugee claim. It follows that the logical step would be for Citizenship and Immigration Canada to create a list of safe countries whose citizens would not be entitled to make refugee claims. That list should include at least all EU countries, Switzerland, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Israel, some Caribbean countries, and other established democracies with acceptable human-rights records. Currently, any person in Canada may make a refugee claim. People entering Canada may make a refugee claim at any port of entry. Visitors, international students, foreign workers, foreign diplomats, and visiting athletes or artists may make a claim. All claims must be considered regardless of the citizenship of the claimant. However, processing such claims costs millions of dollars both in the process and concomitant public health, social services and education costs - adding to the already staggering backlog. Due to the broad interpretation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and efforts of refugee activists, Canada has the highest acceptance rates in the world. According to United Nations statistics, in 2003 acceptance rates were: Canada 49.6 per cent, U.S. 32 per cent, Italy 16.3 per cent, France 13.3 per cent, Denmark 12 per cent, Belgium 10.3 per cent, Spain 10 per cent and Finland 0.7 per cent. The IRB schedules hearings to determine refugee claims within 18 months of making a claim or appeal. There is now a backlog of 60,000 claims. These claimants remain in Canada and hundreds if not thousands of them could pose security threats to Canada. Canada has the most generous refugee system in the world that has unfortunately become a parallel immigration venue for those who are not qualified to immigrate, for economic migrants, criminals, even terrorists. The need for a total overhaul of the refugee determination system is urgent to serve the best interests of genuine refugees and Canadians in general.

Catholic Bishop Slams Facebook "Friendship is not a commodity," Sunday, August 2, 2009 8:57 PM | Newsmax.com Facebook, Twitter, texts and e-mails are undermining communities, families and friendships, according to the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales. Archbishop Vincent Nichols said Sunday that these and other Web-based services have led young people to seek "transient" friendships, with quantity becoming more important than quality. Nichols said a key factor in suicide among young people was the trauma caused when such loose relationships collapsed. "Friendship is not a commodity," he told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. He added: "Friendship is something that is hard work and enduring when it's right". Read the full story at BBC News.

Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper greets Indo-Canadian community on India's Independence Aug 09 2009: Prime Minister Stephen Harper has extended greetings to the Indo-Canadian community as they mark the 62nd Anniversary of India’s Independence. ‘’This is an occasion for Indo-Canadians to take pride in India’s remarkable heritage and history,’’ he said adding since its independence in 1947, India has emerged as a vibrant democracy and a promising economic power. At the heart of this free society is a commitment to pluralism, a trait that characterizes both of our great nations. Canada and India share a special bond founded on shared democratic ideals and enriched by a large and dynamic Indo-Canadian community. There are nearly one million Canadians with roots in the subcontinent. From coast to coast, Indo-Canadians have become an integral part of the fabric of Canadian life. ‘’I am honoured to join you in celebrating the cultural legacy that you have generously shared with Canadians,’’ Harper said.

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Recast Aug 08 2009: Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced 10 full-time appointments and one full-time reappointment to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). Haig Basmajian was appointed for a three-year term in the Montreal office. Robert Joseph Bebbington, Teresa Cheung, Anthony Peter da Silva, Lesley Mason, Patricia Jean Miscampbell, Deborah Ann Grace Morrish, Vandana Patel, Noeline Sujithra Paul, and Michele Pettinella were each appointed for three-year terms in the Toronto office. Marlene Hogarth was reappointed in Toronto. Peter da Silva has over 15 years of experience in the immigrant settlement and not-for-profit education and training sector. Most recently he served in many capacities at the Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board, including as a trustee for Brampton and as a member of the Peel Newcomer Strategy Group. Mr. da Silva has received an award from the Peel Literacy Guild for Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Literacy, as well as an award from the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation for Excellence in Special Education. He has previously been president of the Ontario Association of Adult and Continuing Education School Board, and chair of the Partnership Advisory Council for the Centres for Excellence in Research in Immigration and Settlement.

Australian Lawmaker Urges Immigration Cuts to Combat Extremism http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-08-10-voa12.cfm By Phil Mercer | Sydney |10 August 2009 An Australian legislator has called for a sharp reduction in the number of immigrants allowed in the country, along with more rigorous background checks on new settlers. The intent is to determine whether immigrants from Africa or the Middle East have links to fundamentalist groups. Last week, several Australians of Somali and Lebanese backgrounds were charged with plotting a suicide attack on a military base. The arrests have raised concerns among some that extremist groups may be seeking to establish themselves in Australia through immigrants from Muslim or predominantly-Muslim nations. Australian lawmaker Kelvin Thomson has called for a sharp reduction in the number of immigrants allowed in the country and more rigorous background checks on new settlers. He says the intention is to determine whether immigrants from certain nations in Africa or the Middle East have links to fundamentalist groups. "Given time, it would be possible to get to the bottom of the background of applicants from Somalia and elsewhere and work out whether they have any association with fundamentalist groups and make a rational assessment of whether they pose a risk," said Thomson. "Reducing our rates of immigration intake to the rates prevailing back in the 1990s would provide authorities with much more time in which to assess applications, and thereby improve Australia's security." Refugee advocates, however, believe that such an approach would be short-sighted and biased. They make the point that in the past most terror suspects here have been born in Australia to white, European families. "Often the majority of suspects in terrorism cases, they're often born in Australia and often they're from Anglo-Saxon backgrounds, as we've seen with some of the high profile cases over the last few years," said Peter van Vliet, the director of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils of Australia. Last year more than 400,000 new settlers arrived in Australia. Among them were foreign students as well as temporary and permanent migrants. The number of skilled migrant workers has recently been reduced due to the global economic slowdown. Official figures show that the new-comers came from more than 200 countries, with the largest groups arriving from Great Britain, New Zealand, China, India and Italy. Australia also re-settles around 13,000 refugees every year under official humanitarian schemes.

Kenya impunity 'disappoints US' Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8185613.stm US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has described as disappointing Kenya's failure to investigate a bout of deadly violence after the 2007 election. Speaking in Nairobi on the first day of her African tour, Mrs Clinton urged the Kenyan authorities to end impunity. At least 1,300 people were killed in two months of violence, but the cabinet has resisted calls for a tribunal. Earlier, Mrs Clinton told a trade summit that Africa needed democracy to help boost its economic performance. Addressing the press following a meeting with the Kenya's president and prime minister, Mrs Clinton strongly criticised Kenya's political leadership. She said the absence of strong and effective institutions had permitted ongoing corruption, impunity and human rights violations. And she noted that these conditions had helped fuel the violence that engulfed the country in early 2008. "We've been very clear in our disappointment that action has not been taken [over the violence]," she said.

UNDP: Poverty, Conflict Inhibit Arab Development VOA News | By Meredith Buel | Washington, DC | 31 July 2009 UNDP 5th Arab Development Report: A report by more than 100 intellectuals from Arab countries says poverty, unemployment, authoritarian rule and conflict are undermining freedoms and quality of life for people in the Middle East and North Africa, according to the Arab Human Development Report, which was presented at a recent event in Washington. The report is the fifth in a series sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and is independently compiled by scholars from Arab countries. Hindrances to development The report says spreading poverty, unemployment, civil wars, ethnic conflicts and authoritarian repression are inhibiting development. Amat Alsoswa directs the UNDP's Regional Bureau for Arab States. "This is still a region with knowledge levels that are not up to the standards of the globalized economy, where women suffer discrimination and where political rights are entrenched. But it is also a region plagued by poverty. It is water scarce and highly vulnerable to climate change," said Alsoswa. The report says among the threats to human security is a lack of representative government coupled with human rights violations and sweeping powers for security agencies. Alsoswa told reporters at a Washington event to present the report that economies are overly dependent on oil, and most Arab countries are unable to cope with growing populations and an unemployment rate among young people that is nearly double that of the rest of the world. "It is a region where governments at times appear to be overwhelmed, unable in many cases to develop the institutional capacity necessary to address these massive challenges that are only becoming more severe," Alsoswa added.