By Norma Greenaway, Postmedia News December 1, 2010

OTTAWA — The Conservative government will call a vote on its latest refugee and human smuggling legislation even though it faces almost certain defeat in the Commons, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says. Kenney told reporters Wednesday he won’t withdraw the legislation because he’s convinced the opposition is on the wrong side of public opinion on the issue. “If the opposition intends to vote against this strong, but balanced effort to crack down on human smuggling and queue jumping, they’ll have to stand up and vote for it in the House of Commons and be accountable to voters,” he said.

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Dean Beeby, The Canadian Press, Nov 29

OTTAWA—Failure rates for immigrants writing citizenship tests have soared since the spring, when tougher questions and revamped rules made it harder for newcomers to become Canadian. The new test, introduced March 15, was based on a bulked-up citizenship guide released a year ago to give immigrants a richer picture of Canada’s history, culture, law and politics.

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By Marlon Rey Bilaton, The Filipino Reporter, 28 November 2010

The Filipino Canadian community is more and more becoming suspicious of the changes made to the Federal government’s Live-in caregiver program (LCP) and remain further committed to campaigning for justice in the face of the continuation of the antiquated, anti-woman program. The restrictive policies of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) stall the development of Filipino workers, prolonging their economical marginalization and confinement to low skilled positions. CIC in continuing to refuse the recognition of education and qualifications of Filipino workers is exploitative and oppressive, and a conscious aim to keep Filipino-Canadian women under the rule of the LCP.

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By Norma Greenaway, Postmedia News November 26, 2010

OTTAWA — Months before the Harper government proposed revamping Canada’s refugee system, it was warned Canadians likely would balk at any move to treat asylum seekers differently, depending on their country of origin. Most Canadians want the refugee system to “err on the side of fairness,” said a report commissioned by the federal government last year. The research was conducted as Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and other officials were quietly floating the idea of establishing different rules for claimants who arrived here from countries which are generally seen as respectful of democratic and human rights.

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By Syed Hussan | November 19, 2010, rabble.ca

The right-wing minority government of Stephen Harper has just introduced Bill C-49. The “Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act ” that, among other things, allows the minister of public safety to declare any group of migrants coming in to Canada, a ‘smuggling incident.’ Once deemed a smuggling incident, the refugee claimants can be jailed for at least a year, with no access to health coverage. Their incarceration may be extended, with reviews only possible once in six months. If these asylum seekers gain refugee status, the minister of immigration can choose to revoke their status at any point in the next five years. At the end of the five years, the government wants to be able to assess the conditions in the “home country” and determine their safety, and if found to be safe the refugees can be deported. During these five years, the claimants are not allowed to apply for permanent residence or to sponsor their families. Those whose claims are denied have no recourse to appeal. Those found to be a “human smuggler,” defined as someone who “knows or is reckless as to whether an asylum seeker has broken the law” can be jailed for 10 years.

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