WFP: Pandemic & Immigration
During this pandemic, CLARKE IMMIGRATION LAW is open and we are working remotely while keeping staff at the office. Please refer to our post on COVID19 which has regular updates. This pandemic has caused significant frustration and anxiety among our clients, including businesses that are negatively affected, families, workers and refugee claimants. Alastair Clarke gave an interview to the Winnipeg Free Press to answer some questions related to this ongoing pandemic and its impact on Canadian immigration law.
We have included a limited selection from the interview below. Please click here to read the full article.
Free Press: Are you concerned about how coronavirus response and the economic impact of the pandemic will influence people’s ability to land in Canada and to process applications on the permanent residency and citizenship track?
Clarke: Absolutely… we’re dealing with emergencies on a daily basis. Clients are concerned about their work permits, international students are worried about their status if they’ve been granted study permits, but they’re now not able to come for whatever reason. We have clients who have requirements to get biometrics (fingerprints and photo), but they’re not able to get the biometrics because the offices are closed.
This pandemic has affected the entire system. Not to mention the (Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada) tribunal is virtually closed, 90 per cent of our hearings have been postponed.
We expect there are going to be delays in processing times. We expect this is going to impact many applications. Canada, as everyone knows, is dependent on immigration and our economy is tied very closely with immigration.
FP: What if someone had been on track to apply for a permanent residency permit and just got laid off? Are they still going to be eligible to remain in Canada? Would they be eligible for the emergency employment benefit?
AC: Every case is different. So, we’re dealing with these questions on a case-by-case basis.
I had one trucker who called me and he has a permanent residency application in process and his employer has supported his application. But the routes he has are all to the United States, and this client doesn’t feel comfortable going to the United States anymore. He’s asked his employer for domestic routes, but they don’t have any. So now he’s asking whether or not he can quit — and that would be a huge risk; he puts his visa application at risk.
I will say, generally speaking, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, I’m on the phone with officers almost daily and they have been incredibly open about what they’re dealing with. The officers are incredibly sympathetic; they understand how these applicants are being affected.
Please go to the Winnipeg Free Press article to read the interview in full. This pandemic and the impact of COVID19 is causing unprecedented changes to the economy and to society on a global scale.
Finally, I want to applaud the Government of Manitoba for their hard work. Currently, there are ~250 infections in the entire province and only a few deaths. We have less than 1% of the cases in Canada and Manitoba is very safe. I feel extremely safe and secure in Manitoba and we have the benefit of an extremely reliable health care system.
We want to thank all the health care workers who work tirelessly to treat those affected by this pandemic. We each need to do our part to mitigate the risk and flatten the curve. We are very fortunate to live in Manitoba and we benefit from good governance and strong leadership.
