By: Staff Writer

OTTAWA — Elderly immigrants cost the government approximately $3 billion annually in health care, while those older than 50 who have worked, have never reported earning more than $15,000 a year, figures suggest.

The figures are contained in a memo produced before the government froze the parent and grandparent stream and introduced a 10-year, multiple-entry super-visa that requires visiting relatives to show proof of a year’s worth of health insurance as a stopgap measure while Ottawa deals with a huge backlog in applications.

It suggests the government has concerns about the cost of elderly immigrants.

Released through access to information and prepared for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney in “response to a request for information regarding the cost of health care to senior immigrants and the contribution that parents and grandparents make to household income,” the memo raises questions about whether Canada might be moving toward a two-tier health-care system for newcomers.

It suggests some 2,712 refugees older than 65 cost the government $7.4 million in 2000-2010. Based on data collected between 1980 and 2010, Citizenship and Immigration estimates there were about 275,000 immigrant parents and grandparents over 65 living in Canada in 2010 at a cost of nearly $3 billion a year for health care.

The cost for a newcomer senior who lives to age 85 years was cited at about $160,000.

A Commons committee has called for the super-visa to be made permanent — and last month, the government announced it was cutting health benefits to refugees, which touched off a wave of protest among physicians.

On Thursday, Kenney said the Tories are considering a premium aimed at defraying health-care costs.

“One idea has been to require families to put down some kind of a health-care bond for sponsoring parents or grandparents. They would pay up front for a portion of the health-care costs that their parents would use in Canada,” he said.

– Postmedia News

Joleen Kelly Patterson, last seen in Toronto. Convicted of importing narcotics. (Canada Border Services Agency)

5 men and a woman added to ‘Wanted’ list
By QMI Agency

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) added six more people to its Wanted list on Wednesday, including a woman.

The agency launched a website last July with profiles of 30 individuals suspected or convicted of crimes and believed to be hiding out in Canada illegally, and enlisted the public’s help in finding the fugitives. The CBSA has continued to expand the list since.

To date, the CBSA has located 25 wanted people in Canada, of which it has removed 17 from the country. Five others on the list were found abroad.

Wanted are:

Omid Bayani, last known to be in Vancouver. Wanted for “serious criminality.”

Giorgio Cote, last known to be in Toronto. Wanted for “organized criminality.”

Hector Sebastian Gordon, last known to be in Winnipeg. Convicted of assault, robbery and drug charges.

Joleen Kelly Patterson, last seen in Toronto. Convicted of importing narcotics.

Juan Carlos Pinto Ku, last seen in Toronto. Faces a charge of assault with a weapon.

Giang Thanh Vo, last seen in Toronto. Convicted of armed robbery, assault and possession of a narcotic for the purpose of trafficking.

The Toronto Police Service apprehended Canute Cedric Green on April 15 in the Greater Toronto Area.

News Release
17th removal of “Wanted by the CBSA” individual

Ottawa, Ontario, May 9, 2012 – The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) today announced the removal of Canute Cedric Green, who is featured on the “Wanted by the CBSA” list.

The Toronto Police Service apprehended Canute Cedric Green on April 15 in the Greater Toronto Area. Green is inadmissible to Canada for serious criminality for being convicted of trafficking in a controlled substance, robbery, assault causing bodily harm, carrying a concealed weapon and assaulting a peace officer. He was removed from Canada on May 8.

To date, as a result of the “Wanted by the CBSA” program, Canadians have assisted in locating 25 individuals in Canada, while four individuals were located abroad. Additionally, the CBSA has removed 17 of these individuals from Canada.

Members of the public are reminded that they should not take action to apprehend the individuals listed on the CBSA Web site. Any information on the whereabouts of these wanted individuals should be reported to the CBSA Border Watch Toll-free Line at 1-888-502-9060.

May 18, 2012, 8:49 a.m. EDT

CBSA Lays Charges in Immigration Fraud Case

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, May 18, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced today that it has laid charges against three men involved in an immigration fraud scheme. After a lengthy investigation into the activities of Canada 2000 Immigration and Business Solutions Inc., a licensed immigration consulting business operating in Halifax, Ziad El Shurafa and Mohammed Elhajabed have been jointly charged with eight counts of counselling misrepresentation, under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Awni Sakalla has been charged with two counts of counselling misrepresentation.

Each charge represents a situation where the individuals assisted a family in committing residency fraud-creating the fictitious appearance of a Canadian residence for immigrants with Canadian permanent resident status, for the purpose of maintaining that status and obtaining Canadian citizenship.

The charges relate to activities going as far back as January 2006. “Immigration fraud is a criminal offence in Canada and damages the integrity of our immigration system,” said Andrew LeFrank, Regional Director General of CBSA Atlantic Region. “The CBSA takes this issue very seriously and works closely with its partners to identify, investigate and prosecute those engaging in immigration fraud to the full extent of the law.” The CBSA executed search warrants related to this investigation in May 2011 at the business location on Brenton Street and at three other locations in the city. The investigation continues to determine how many individuals may have fraudulently maintained their status in Canada through Canada 2000 Immigration and Business Solutions Inc. For more information on immigration fraud, please visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Web site at http://www.cic.gc.ca .

To report immigration fraud in Canada, or if you have information about these individuals, please call the Border Watch Toll-free Line at 1-888-502-9060. All information is treated as confidential.

Contacts: Communications Canada Border Services Agency 902-426-0900 SOURCE: Canada Border Services Agency

Copyright 2012 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

18 May 2012

For concise and recent immigration information watch our news.
Earlier this month the Canadian province of Saskatchewan introduced changes to their Immigrant Nominee Program affecting the family category, student category, and the entrepreneur category.

Saskatchewan’s Advanced Education, Employment and Immigration Minister Rob Norris announced that in an attempt to create more fairness in the Canadian immigration application process, family category nominees will now only be able to submit one application per household until the principal applicant and family have settled in the Canadian province.

This still means that immediate families will be able to immigrate to Canada together, but the process of bringing extended family members over has changed. Previously, Canadian immigrants who settled in the Canadian province could apply for visas for unlimited family members to join them.

Nominees wishing to enter the province will now also require a job offer. Previously, applicants were required to intend to find work in the Canadian province in order to receive a visa, but didn’t need an actual job offer.

“We have families now moving forward with multiple applications and what’s happening is something that’s unfair,” said Norris. “Some families have come (with) — we’ve even heard stories of up to 20 applications. As they’ve moved forward with their 20, what’s happening is other families are being left out.”

“Overall, there are pros and cons. I think the families do have a financial commitment when they bring an individual here, so there’s definitely more stress on the family to support that new family member while they are settling and trying to find a job. So I think that does — the fact that the person would have a job — does reduce the stress on the family members and would make the whole settlement process a little more enjoyable for everyone,” said Darcy Dietrich, executive director of the Regina Open Door Society, a non-profit organization that provides settlement and integration services to refugees and immigrants in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Additionally, students who graduate from a university in Canada outside of the province will now be required to have been employed in Saskatchewan for one full year before applying for a visa in the Immigrant Nominee Program. Previously, graduates only need 6 months of employment in the Canadian province.

Entrepreneur category applicants will be required to have their net worth and evidence of funds verified by an independent third party approved by the Canadian government before submitting an application and receiving a visa.

Norris explained that the changes were necessary to boost the integrity of the Immigrant Nominee Program and further convince the Canadian government to increase the immigration cap in Saskatchewan from 4,000 to 6,000.

These changes will go into effect immediately, however applications submitted before 2 May 2012 will be processed under the previous rules.

If you would like to apply for a Canadian visa WorkPermit.com can help. WorkPermit.com is a specialist visa consultancy with over twenty years of experience dealing with visa applications. We can help with a wide range of visa applications to your country of choice. Please feel free to contact us for further details.

Refugee claimant who has previously lived in Chicago and Dubai plays the "honour killing "card in order to remain in Canada

Jordanian mom hiding in Toronto after deportation order

First posted: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 07:14 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 07:22 PM EDT

Abeer Hassan Al Rifaee, 32, on the run, but believed to be in Toronto with her sons, claiming she will be subject of “honour killing” if deported to Jordan for converting family from Islam to Christianity. Jordanian community claim leaving Islam one of worst crimes in Jordan and she can be stoned to death.

TORONTO – A Jordanian mom of two now hiding in the Toronto-area claims she will be the victim of an “honour killing” if deported to Amman.

She says that is the punishment that awaits for converting her family from Islam to Christianity.

Abeer Hassan Al Rifaee, 32, has been on the run with Mohamed, 10, and Saleem, 8, since March 29 when a warrant was issued for her arrest by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for not showing up for removal.

Jordanian community and church leaders in Toronto said converting to Christianity from Islam is one of the worst crimes in that country. As a penalty Al Rifaee can be stoned to death.

“I am very scared for my life and that of my children,” Al Rifaee told the Sun from a Toronto-area hideout. “My kids haven’t been going to school and we are scared to leave the apartment.”

The family seldom venture outside fearing they’ll be scooped and placed on a flight home.

“We are very terrified for our lives,” she said on Wednesday. “The kids like me are terrified of being tortured and forced to re-convert to Islam.”

Al Rifaee, her estranged husband, and their sons, arrived here from Dubai in February 2009 as visitors and filed refugee claims that were turned down in March 2011. Subsequent appeals were also denied.

They had previously lived in Chicago for five years and her sons were born there.

Al Rifaee’s refugee claim was tossed out due to credibility issues and she had returned to Jordan four or five times after alleging she’ll be killed there, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled.

The board heard that Al Rifaee’s cousin was Zaid Al-Rafee, a former Prime Minister of Jordan from 1985 to 1989. His father, Sameer, was also a PM, along with his son, Samir, who ruled from 2009 to 2011 before being forced out.

Al Rafaee claims the surviving ex-leaders forced her not to disgrace the family name and eventually to flee from Jordan.

Canadian immigration officer A. Bremner in a Nov. 2011 letter told Al Rifaee that her application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds was turned down.

“Your are presently in Canada without status,” Bremner said. “If you do not leave Canada as instructed, the CBSA will make arrangements to enforce your removal.”

(…)

Father Marcos Marcos, of St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church, in a letter to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, said there’s been threats in Canada against Al Riffaee by family members.

“They are in hiding and fear for their lives if they are returned to Jordan,” Marcos said. “Honour killing and crime towards females are frequently practiced in Jordan.”

Rasha Nour, of Middle East Christians Association, said Jordanian women are killed by male relatives “for the most trifling issue.”

“She (Al Riffaee) fears returning to Jordan lest her uncles kill her for dishonouring the family by converting to Christianity,” Nour said. “Her case is serious as she will never be forgiven.”

Pastor Emad Girgis, of Children of Ishmael Ministry, said the family was baptized last February at St. Mark’s Coptic Church in Scarborough.

“I gave them their first Bible,” Girgis said. “Upon arriving in Jordan she will be humiliated and forced to deny Christianity and declare Muslim faith yet again.”

___________

Christians in Jordan 

Druze 

Stephanie Levitz
The Canadian Press

OTTAWA—Would-be immigrants are taking the federal government to court over its decision to return their applications.

They’re angry about the Conservatives’ move to legislate away a backlog of some 280,000 applications created before 2008.

The government announced the decision in its March budget, saying it’s a necessary part of modernizing the immigration system.

But Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman said he was immediately flooded with emails by people who were furious about the changes.

They’d followed all the steps they were told to take in order to come to Canada, he said, only to be pushed aside.

“The irony of that is this is a government that’s constantly telling us that people shouldn’t jump the queue,” he said.

“We have all these people who went into the queue, paid their money, followed the law . . . and now the government is saying it’s too bad because we changed our mind.”

Waldman is now representing at least 40 people who are challenging the decision to eliminate the backlog and want to force the government to process their application. He expects more to join.

The government has said those who are having their application and related fees returned can re-apply under new criteria established for the skilled worker program in the last few years.

In addition to legal action, the pledge to eliminate the backlog has sparked the creation of a Facebook group and small protests in India, Pakistan and China.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said government is committed to creating a fast and flexible immigration system.

“The government is confident that the provisions in Bill C-38 to eliminate the federal skilled worker backlog will withstand any legal challenge,” Alexis Pavlich said in an email.

(…)

The seven-year backlog represents people who applied to get into Canada before Immigration Minister Jason Kenney rejigged the federal skilled worker program to fast-track applications from people the government felt could fill holes in Canada’s economy.

The length of time it was taking to process the backlogged applications is the subject of another lawsuit involving over 700 people from around the world.

A hearing for that case has been set for June 5.

Shakeil Boothe was found without vital signs at a Brampton home on May 27 last year and was declared dead a short time later.

Parents face first-degree murder charges in Brampton boy’s death
Published On Thu, 17 May 2012

Shakeil Boothe was found without vital signs at a Brampton home on May 27 last year and was declared dead a short time later.
The Canadian Press

A couple accused in the death of a 10-year-old boy are now facing upgraded charges of first-degree murder.

Police say the boy’s father Garfield Boothe and stepmother Nichelle Boothe-Rowe appeared in a Brampton court Thursday for the start of their preliminary hearing.

Both were formally charged with the upgraded counts.

Shakeil Boothe was found without vital signs at a Brampton home on May 27 last year and was declared dead a short time later.

Garfield Boothe was originally charged with failing to provide the necessities of life but that charge was later upgraded to second-degree murder.

Nichelle Boothe-Rowe was previously facing a manslaughter charge.

Source: 2006 Public Use Microdata File, Statistics Canada.

Pakistani-Canadians: Falling below the poverty line
Murtaza Haider | 1 day ago

Pakistan-born immigrants are the new face of poverty in urban Canada. The Canadian census revealed that 44 per cent of Pakistan-born immigrants fell below the poverty line making them the second most poverty prone group of immigrants in Canada.

While they may project an aura of opulence during their visits back home, their life in Canada, however, is often full of struggle and frustration. Thousands of Pakistani trained engineers, doctors, and PhDs are driving taxis or are working as security guards in large cities. In fact, one in three taxi-drivers in Canada was born in either India or Pakistan. Several others are unemployed thus becoming a burden on Canadian taxpayers.

The latest Census data for income for 2005 revealed that Pakistan-born immigrants reported the second highest incidence for the low-income cut-off, a proxy for poverty line in Canada. In comparison, only 18 per cent of India-born immigrants in Canada reported being a low-income person or belonging to a low-income economic family. Immigrants born in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Italy and Germany reported the lowest incidence of poverty in Canada.

Source: 2006 Public Use Microdata File, Statistics Canada.

Unlike in the Middle East where the Arab governments do not allow assimilation of migrant workers, the Canadian government and the society to a large extent does not create systematic barriers that may limit the immigrants’ ability to succeed and assimilate in Canada. This is not to suggest that immigrants face no barriers at all in Canada. They in fact do. For instance, Pakistan-trained doctors cannot practice medicine without completing further training in Canada. The shorter duration of medical training in Pakistan necessitates the additional certification for doctors. Engineering graduates from Pakistan, however, face no such barrier because the engineering curriculum and the duration of training in Pakistan is similar to that in Canada.

Despite the opportunities (and constraints), Pakistani-Canadians have not prospered as much as immigrants from other countries have. In 2005, wages earned by Pakistan-born immigrants were on average 70 per cent of the wages earned by those born in Canada. In comparison, wages earned by the India-born immigrants were 86 per cent of the wages earned by Canadians. At the same time, immigrants born in America earned 20 per cent more in wages than those born in Canada. Similarly, UK-born immigrants also reported on average higher wages than that of Canadian-born.

Source: 2006 Public Use Microdata File, Statistics Canada.

Because of lower wages, the Pakistan-born immigrants reported as one of the lowest home-ownership rates. Only 55 per cent of Pakistan-born immigrants reported owning their homes. In comparison, 75 per cent of the India-born immigrants owned their homes. At the same time, while only 12 per cent of the India- and Philippines-born immigrants had never worked in the past, 22 per cent of the Pakistan-born immigrants in Canada reported never being in the workforce.

Source: 2006 Public Use Microdata File, Statistics Canada.

The difference in wages, home-ownership rates, and employment rates between immigrants from India and Pakistan extend beyond the economic spheres. For instance, Pakistani-born immigrants live in large-sized families. Whereas only 13 per cent of India-born immigrants live in households of five persons or more, 44 per cent of the Pakistan-born immigrants live in households with five or more people. Given the lower wages, high unemployment rates and rental units, Pakistan-born immigrants experience severe crowding at homes where the number of residents per room is perhaps the highest owing to the large family sizes.

Given similar cultural endowments, education, and language skills, it is important to explore why Pakistan-born immigrants in Canada have lagged behind their Indian counterparts. The Indian diaspora is much larger in size and has been established in Canada for over a longer period, which has allowed immigrants from India to benefit from the social networks required to establish oneself in employment markets.

While immigrants from Pakistan lack the social networks necessary for success with employment, I would also argue that they suffer from a self-imposed identity crisis. After arriving from Pakistan, many male immigrants feel threatened by the Canadian liberal values, which empower their children and women. Suddenly the head of the household cannot dictate the way he did in Pakistan. Instead of embracing the change that empowers their families, several male immigrants end up in a hostile standoff with their families that sometimes lasts for decades. At the same time, religious leaders, which are almost always imported from back home to serve in mosques in Canada, preach orthodoxy to the parish, further confusing the struggling males.

With turmoil at home and bleak employment prospects outside, Pakistan-born male immigrants struggle with the decision to stay in Canada or return to Pakistan. Children and wives are often shipped back to Pakistan for prolonged periods while the males continue struggling in the job market. While their children see themselves as Canadians, the Pakistan-born male immigrants spent decades figuring out how to cope with their hyphenated identity, i.e., Pakistani-Canadian.

The limited success of (mostly Asian and African) immigrants in the economic spheres and their modest assimilation in the mainstream Canadian culture has prompted the right-wing groups to launch campaigns against immigration to Canada. While opponents of immigration are mostly naïve and their recommendations to reduce immigration border on lunacy, the fact remains that huge changes in the Canadian immigration policies are already taking place. In Saskatchewan, for instance, the provincial government on May 2 has changed the law that now prohibits immigrants from sponsoring their extended family members unless they secure a “high skill” job offer before arrival.

Since 2001, Pakistan has lost the most in its share of supplying immigrants to Canada. Pakistan was the third largest source of immigrants to Canada in 2001 supplying 6.1 per cent of the total immigrants. However, by 2010 Pakistan’s share of immigrants declined by 71 per cent. Pakistan is no longer even in the top 10 sources of immigrants for Canada. At the same time, the Philippines experienced a 153 per cent increase in its share of immigrants making it the biggest source of immigrants to Canada in 2010.

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

While there is no shortage of applicants in Pakistan, it is hard to establish the precise reason for the declining number of immigrants. It could be that the dismal performance of Pakistan-based immigrants may have prompted the government to reduce the intake from Pakistan. It may also be true that the exponential increase in violence and militancy in Pakistan may have made the task of verifying credentials and identifying future citizens much more difficult.

Over the next 50 years Canada will need millions more immigrants. The current and expected fertility rates in Canada suggest that immigration is the only possible way of ensuring enough workers needed for economic growth and to keep solvent Canada’s security net. Pakistan-born immigrants had the chance to excel in Canada and pave the way for future generations of enterprising immigrants. Instead, Pakistan-born immigrants became the face of Canada’s urban poverty. Their dismal performance in Canada and the spread of religious fanaticism back home will most likely further reduce immigration from Pakistan.

Murtaza Haider, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of research and graduate programs at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. He can be reached by email at murtaza.haider@ryerson.ca

By Staff Writer – Burnaby NewsLeader

The City of Burnaby has won a provincial Award of Excellence for its circus program.

The award, from the BC Recreation and Parks Association (BCRPA), recognizes the program which was developed as a way to introduce physical activity to children from immigrant and low-income families.

The aim was to create such a program with a non-competitive environment that could also be easily communicated to children with varying levels of English speaking skills. It was designed so children worked through increasingly difficult activities.

The program took place after school in a school gymnasium with the Burnaby school district providing the free space and sponsors were found to allow it to be offered free of charge. Participation was strong with 119 children and 16 volunteers involved.

The Program Excellence Award recognizes creative, successful and innovative programs which may serve as an example of outstanding achievement in public recreation services programming.

“The City of Burnaby identified a need and came up with a novel program that created a safe place for children to learn new skills while being active and social,” said BCRPA chief executive officer Suzanne Allard Strutt. “The program excelled in promoting recreation and physical activity to what can be a hard to reach part of the community.”