Haiti

Canada Immigration Forum (discussion group)


 
       
Subject: Haiti
What happened in Haiti is really devasting. No question about it.

Now, yesterday Immigration minister announced all case related to Haiti will be given perference. That means all existing case will be hold and only haiti case will be processed.


[17-01-2010,17:28]
[**.87.40.174]
question
(in reply to: Haiti)
no, that is not what it means. it means that extra assistance may be offered to the embassy that processes Haitian applications to make sure that everything is done to get them completed without delay- as long as they qualify.

It is not an either /or scenario.


[17-01-2010,20:49]
[**.154.245.217]
Sharon
(in reply to: Haiti)
they will accept all the refugees from haiti..they will not deport any haiti...
[17-01-2010,21:05]
[**.80.235.13]
Anonymous
(in reply to: Haiti)
the catasrophe in haiti is beyond imagaination...i read in the news today that the prime minister sleeps in his car because his house was destroyed ...the president of haiti now resides in a room in the airport because his presidential palace was destroyed!! The destruction is about 80-90% of the country..



[17-01-2010,21:10]
[**.80.235.13]
Anonymous
(in reply to: Haiti)
if CIC is going to speed up immigration process for people of Haiti it will be totally unfair to rest of the world, because it’s not the first and not the last catastrophe on the planet .
[17-01-2010,22:22]
[**.141.58.13]
answer
(in reply to: Haiti)
answer... get over it. Do not believe for a second they will accept ALL refugees. Don´t believe for a second that all other countries will be put on hold while Haiti gets endeless visas.

Canada responds like it always does when crisis hits... be it war, tsunami or earthquake - with compassion.

You are not entitled to your place in line and you are not entitled to equal treatment. Canada has the moral authority and the support of its citizens to respond and how it is needed.

May I suggest that Haiti needs all the help it can get right now.

[17-01-2010,23:08]
[**.154.245.217]
Sharon
Haiti (in reply to: Haiti)
The problem behind this is that parents and grandparents are already at the bottom of the list. They are let in when the priority cases are done-- business and worker classes go first then refugees then spouses. All these come out of a fixed size allocation. If the quotas are not filled a few parents grandparents are let in. This year the government has reduced again the totals allowed. Based on priorities it is the class at the bottom which pays disproportionately. Only a few thousand parents and grandparents are let in a year. People with applications panic because without this disaster the waits are getting longer each year and the scale of the disaster is enough to wipe out any allocation for the year completely for anyone else (in the bottom class).

People have paid large amounts in fees and there is an expectation of at least somewhat fair treatment. Waits in the last three years have in some cases tripled. We are talking of a process that can take at the rate things are going ten years and people still have to pass the medical. When you are talking about parents and grandparents who are getting older a delay in a process as long as this is almost like a refusal except they keep all your money.

I totally agree that priority should be given to helping Haitians. But the government is being disingenuous to insist that this must come at the cost of the people on the bottom -- parents and grandparents. In real recognition of the suffering the government could take the Haitians out of the line and let them in on top of the annual quota. To do otherwise is like the government giving a gift and making someone else pay for it. In recognition of the scale of this disaster coming at a time the government has made a political decision to restrict family class immigration this year it is the only thing fair to do.

After all the government is taking political credit for doing something extra here and they will not be so long as they insist that these people must come out of the already cut quota at the cost of people who have been waiting for years. It is sad that this debate is being set up to be a competition between support for a real humanitarian tragedy in Haiti and people who are only asking for fair treatment as they have watched the advertised waiting be extended almost every month after they paid their fees.

The government also has a choice-- it can stop taking people´s money and giving hope if it does not want them here. I accept each country has a right to decide its policy priorities with respect to immigration but the constant bait and switch with expectations for applications once people have invested hopes and thousands of dollars in fees is a bit hard to take.

No, this is not simple and it is not other people against Haiti. This is about a lack of being forthright and fair in handling applications. I personally think Canada´s word should be worth something and the terms and timelines should not be changed for applications in process so that people know what to expect. Extra efforts for people in need ought to be made but these should be made by the people of Canada as a whole not by bumping aside others waiting in line. This does not need to be an either-or situation but the government is turning it in to that.

[18-01-2010,14:15]
[**.14.229.28]
sean
(in reply to: Haiti)
Answer, wake up, when the government gave relief to Philippines Typhoon, all existing cases was not on hold, stop being stupid, the government was only responding to humanitarian situation. if you are qualified your case will be proceeded and if not you will be rejected. Moreover, we should be our brothers keeper. it can happen to you, do you think you are immune to natural disasters
[18-01-2010,14:52]
[***.146.224.101]
bless
(in reply to: Haiti)
I don´t consider $1,500 to be a lot of fees. If you are paying a consultant to help you - that has nothing to do with the government of Canada.

Nowhere does Canada gurantee how long it will take to approve an application. And nowhere does it state that Canada will always allow parents and grandparents into the country.


[18-01-2010,15:39]
[**.154.245.217]
Sharon
Haiti (in reply to: Haiti)
Come on-- I never said we should not do more for Haitit-- This country should do all it can for that country.
There is a fixed number of files that will be concluded each year-- that is determined and announced by the government each fall. The lowest priority is for parents and grandparents and this will come out of that quota if the government does not choose to expand the quota. The Quota was cut more than 20% this year (announced in October).
The total number is only 12,000 a year a small number for the globe. If we are to help Haiti enough we could consume all or almost all of our annual quota on that country alone. And I agree we should do so. This is why I am saying the government should in fact expand the quota.
As for the money paid in fees if you are talking parents ie a couple and you pay the landing fee in advance (I know someone who has) the total came to $3,200. And the fees were higher so some have paid more before they were reduced a couple years ago.
The Philippines case did not have so many qualified applicants as Haiti could have. We have some 6,000 Canadians there as it is. There is a huge number difference between the two. This is not about being on hold while they process this is about annual limits.
All that said I assume the two posters are people who are thinking about spousal applications for which there is no fixed limit (when there are more in one year they let in fewer parents and grandparents).
Don´t try to pretend that I am not saying we should do more for Haiti-- in fact I was clear that this should never be a competition between people who are waiting and new relief needs for Haiti.

[18-01-2010,18:44]
[**.14.229.28]
sean
Haiti (in reply to: Haiti)
As for the comment about no guarantees--
There is a presumption that each application will proceed fairly. Changing the timeline drastically to have your file considered after they have your money and you are making plans is not reasonable.
There is no need to do this in order for Canada to respond to a disaster-- they can simply open the quotas by whichever number they approve for Haiti or wherever they want to make a special case for.
Again, I can assume if you are here it is over a spousal application because files that are on track to go for the better part of a decade stretch any definition of fairness.

It is not too much to ask the government to try to maintain existing timelines for applications already filed (not cut quotas for applications already in queue), to give answers in a reasonable time. This is not the same as a guarantee as each case is different but having a file sit for up to five years is enough without extending it further.

[18-01-2010,18:53]
[**.14.229.28]
sean



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