Dear Editor,
A few months ago the local press publicized that the Canadian Government will refund processing fees to all skilled workers applicants who filed their applications for Permanent Residence in Canada before 28th February 2008 in order to get rid of the backlog applications and quoted press releases from the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Mr. Jason Kenney.
However, the local press failed to publish that over nine hundred skilled workers applicants had filed a class action lawsuit against the Minister of Immigration and the Canadian Government against this move for violating the pledge to assess and finalize decisions in a timely fashion.
They asked the court to order the immigration department to process their applications within a reasonable time frame.
In a decision released on Thursday June 14th 2012, Justice Donald Rennie rejected the minister’s argument that the delay is justified because he has the authority to make policies.
The media reported that Ottawa has suffered a major setback in eliminating its immigration backlog after the federal court ruled the government is obliged to process all applications it accepted into the system.
“The minister can set instructions that permit him to return some applications without processing them at all, and thus obviously there is no further duty in respect of those applications,” the judge wrote in a 24-page decision.
“However, for those that are determined eligible for processing, the duty to do so in a reasonably timely manner remains.”
What lesson does the above scenario have for Guyana? Can our Justice System be compared to the Canadian one? It only took a few months for this case to be heard and a decision made.
Yours faithfully,
Balwant Persaud
Certified Immigration
Consultant
