On March 14, 2008, the Government of Canada introduced legislative amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to modernize the immigration system, to ensure that families are reunited faster and skilled workers arrive sooner.
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, F$ Z# M1 l) U: Z! KOne of the challenges facing our immigration system today is the large number of people waiting in the queue. This is especially a problem in the skilled worker category which makes up most of the backlog.
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- p0 a4 D& w* B9 M) I/ jUnder the proposed measures, Citizenship and Immigration Canada would have greater flexibility in processing new applications, especially from skilled workers.
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+ B# w, R) R& f8 W, CThe legislation is intended to provide greater flexibility in addressing a range of labour market needs. It will not apply to refugees and does not affect our objectives related to family reunification./ K% P7 _! F' L3 B1 F4 H
' J+ c+ h' q8 U! K# ^: c" a. y. _Ultimately, this will result in reduced wait times and improved service. It will also help manage the growth of the backlog of applications. $ n- A. j+ P+ r8 Z$ k% k
3 Q/ ~' E' O2 M/ V* F2 ~" qOnce passed, the new measures will apply to applications received on or after February 27, 2008.
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Those who applied prior to February 27, 2008, will not be subject to the new measures and will be dealt with fairly under the existing rules.
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. V( `& m: I" f2 t) g# J8 x华裔新民主党国会议员邹至蕙昨天在接受《明报》专访时表示，保守党政府之所以热衷于大力推动移民法修订案，其实际目的是为目前火热的阿尔伯塔油砂矿开采招聘大批廉价国际劳工。因为修订案的要点，就是赋予移民部长更大的自主权力，可将某一类别的移民提前加快处理。一旦此修订案被如愿通过，不仅对进入正常程序的移民申请不公，也将对探亲申请和团聚移民造成困难。而保守党为了达到目的，不惜把移民法修订案与预算案捆在一起投票，以便利用自由党畏惧大选的情绪一举过关。因为该修订案如果被单独提出来的话，几乎所有反对党都会投票反对将其封杀。! Q+ ~0 S! y+ i T9 D
另据《世界日报》的报道说，华裔社区联盟（Chinese Canadian Community Alliance）４月３日表示，本次移民及难民保护法的修正，主要是为了要减少源自从前自由党政府执政时的移民案件积压，以及缩短移民申请来加轮候期，移民部长希望以此针对加拿大劳工市场所需进行必要的政策调整，这个调整不牵涉到难民或者家庭团聚。该联盟认为，保守党政府一直把家庭团聚列为移民申请的优先类别，目前家庭团聚类移民申请审查进度比自由党时代要快二至四成。在技术移民申请方面，积压数量更大，现在已激增至90万件，如不加以改进，到2012 年，移民申请案件将要等10年才有审批机会。因此该联盟支持联邦政府有关移民法修政案立场。[zt] |
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