Out/Law Immigration
214 Ash Street V3M 3M3 New Westminster, BC, Canada

This recent decision by the Federal Court of Appeal illustrates the limitations of judicial oversight over the government. Although the Canadian doctors for refugee care had earlier one of victory in court, trying to ensure that the government's new legislation follows the court ruling is another matter. Canadian Doctors for Refugee Care v. Canada (Attorney General) - 2015 FC 149 - 2015-02-05 http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca//dec/en/item/107802/index.do

Federal Court of Appeal grants judicial review and refers complaint of immigration sponsorship program for parents and grandparents back to the Canadian human rights commission for redetermination. While not a complete victory, the Court decision on Wednesday offers some solace to the many Canadians frustrated by the lengthy wait times for processing their sponsorship applications for parents or grandparents. http://m.thestar.com/ m-for-parents-discriminatory-federal-court-of-appeal-rules.html

Tuesday night I attended a sense of belonging at Century House hosted by New West WINS (New Westminster A Welcoming and Inclusive Community). Participants were immigrants to Canada or workers/volunteers in settlement services. 4 people sat at each table with three 20 minute sessions held mixing up the groups for each session. The first session’s question was recounting a time when we felt a sense of belonging in our community. I spoke about the Rainbow Refugee table at the Pr...ide Festival on Columbia Street last August followed by the Pride Society sponsoring a fundraiser for Rainbow Refugee at one of the bars that evening and how great it was to be with my spouse, friends, neighbours to raise awareness and funds for an organization I am passionate about. In response to the second session’s question about identifying barriers to belonging, I spoke about the isolation LGBT refugees often feel in their own immigrant communities because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and the isolation they feel within the LGBT community because of race, religion, ethnicity, language etc.. In the third session we were asked to brainstorm solutions. I suggested organizations display a rainbow flag and LGBT friendly statement in their offices and literature. A couple other LGBT participants were there and comments on how members of our community could be better included were generally well received. I was glad for this opportunity to meet neighbours and felt my own sense of belonging stronger after the evening concluded. See more

Are same-sex marriages in embassies recognized by Canadian immigration? I attended the Facebook Small Business Booster in Coquitlam on Tuesday and have a better idea of how to use this Facebook page. The foreign same-sex partner of a Canadian citizen alerted me about a gay British diplomat marrying his American same-sex partner in the UK Embassy inBeijing. [see... http://www.telegraph.co.uk//British-diplomats-gay-marriage] He asked whether theycould marry in an embassy and have the marriage recognized for a spousalsponsorship by citizenship and immigration Canada. This is a significant question for couples where the foreign same-sex partner cannot obtain a visa to visit Canada or another country that recognizes same-sex marriages. If only it were that easy. Firstly, according to http://travel.gc.ca/travelling/documents/marriage-overseas: You cannot get married at a Canadian embassy or consulate. Canadian consular officials do not perform marriage ceremonies. Even if the embassy of a country that recognizes same-sex marriages allows a couple where neither of the partners are citizens of that country to marry in the embassy, Canadian immigration will not recognize the marriage unless it is valid in the host country as well as under Canadian law. A classic Catch 22! This policy was uncovered in a confidential memo in 2010 http://www.torontosun.com//toront/2011/01/06/16789956.html. While it’s not always necessary to be married to sponsor because Canadian immigration recognizes two other types of conjugal relationships, Common-law partners and conjugal partner relationships, it can be difficult to meet their eligibility requirements. The advantage to marriage is that the ink need not be dry on the marriage certificate to be able to sponsor. Common-law partners must cohabit for one full year in a conjugal, that is, marriage-like, relationship before filing a sponsorship application. This is risky in some homophobic countries. Conjugal partner relationships must be conjugal at least one full year before the application is filed. It can take several years to be eligible to file an application. So even with equality rights on sexual orientation, same-sex couples can still face obstacles to immigration.

The security certificate process violates fundamental human rights and is flawed. We do not have to compromise our civil liberties to be secure.