报告中关于处理技术移民积案的建议在第三条,但只是陈述了不同人的不同建议,整理列出来,递给政府,作为政府决策的依据。我们从里边不难看出,其中有的建议是相左的,有的建议是经不起推敲的,可以说是“鸡一嘴鸭一嘴”。我在前贴中对于报告作了总结,以帮助童鞋们阅读理解。(必须注意还有一个事实:法理上康胖部长并不必需按照报告来行事。)
以下是建议三的全文,重点部分我作了强调。
RECOMMENDATION 3:
The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada evaluate
the different options to deal with the Federal Skilled Worker backlog
put forward by witnesses. The Government should then proceed to act
in a timely manner to implement whichever recommendation(s) are
determined to be the most effective at reducing the backlog in the
Federal Skilled Worker program.
1. Federal Skilled Worker Program
Witnesses were generally supportive of the Government’s action to reverse the legal obligation to process all new applications and curtail the intake of Federal Skilled Worker applications to better align with the Immigration Levels Plan. They called the 2008 legislative amendment that introduced Ministerial Instructions “politically courageous”, “a great leap forward,” and “a bold step”.
However, some suggested that alternative methods of limiting Federal Skilled
Worker intake would be preferable to the Government’s approach of permitting
500 applications without arranged employment from each listed occupation. One witness suggested instead a two-stage approach, where the Government could select from a pool of applicants that met initial eligibility criteria.23 Another suggested that charging higher processing fees could be a means to slow intake.24 Finally, another witness suggested that the Government adjust the pass mark required for Federal Skilled Workers, the mechanism provided in IRPA for regulating intake.25 Others suggested that the Government amend the points system to favour young immigrants proficient in English or French to both slow intake and improve labour market outcomes for immigrants26.
The Action Plan for Faster Immigration and Ministerial Instructions streamlined Federal Skilled Worker intake. There remains, however, a backlog of Federal Skilled Worker applications that formed prior to February 2008, which numbered 314,000 as of July 2011. There is a second backlog of Federal Skilled Worker applications received under the first Ministerial Instructions of November 2008, estimated to comprise an additional 140,000 persons. These applications are slowly being drawn from to meet annual Federal Skilled Worker targets. A couple of suggestions were made to address these existing backlogs one witness proposed adding more processing resources27, while another suggested that people in the backlog should be able to apply for a work permit and work in Canada while the processing on their permanent resident applications is concluded28.
The Committee heard that applications received under MI-2 (cap of 20,000 without arranged employment) and MI-3 (cap of 10,000 without arranged employment) were placed directly into processing.29 The remainder of the Federal Skilled Worker target is met through backlogged applications received under MI-1 and backlogged applications from pre-February 2008, the cut-off date for the first Ministerial Instructions.
Witnesses from an organization informed the Committee of the disappointment of applicants under Ministerial Instructions 1 who expected, based on publicity surrounding these Ministerial Instructions, to receive a final decision within a year.30 These witnesses told the Committee that the expedited processing was only a reality for 4.7% of their clients applying under Ministerial Instructions 1. Further, they reported that applicants with occupations in demand who applied under Ministerial Instructions 1 felt it was somewhat unfair that they should wait in a backlog while those with similar occupations who applied later, under Ministerial Instructions 2 and 3, are processed first.
Numbers provided by two CIC missions brought this issue into clearer focus.
The Immigration Program manager from New Delhi reported that his mission has the largest inventory of pre-February 2008 Federal Skilled Worker cases.31 While the mission reduced this backlog by 15% in 2008-09, it still stands at 119,500 persons and applicants faced processing times of 79 months in 2010. Further, the program manager stated “Due to the large number of new cases submitted under Ministerial Instructions, we processed few old-inventory cases in 2010. At the present time we are devoting all available resources to the quick processing of new cases received under the 2nd and 3rd set of Ministerial Instructions.”32 Similarly, the immigration program manager at the
Manila mission reported that they have been successful at processing the majority of Federal Skilled Worker applications under MI-2, many of those lodged under MI-I, and only a few in the pre-February 2008 inventory.33
How many Federal Skilled Worker applications from each source the old
backlog, the backlog under Ministerial Instructions 1, and new applications received under recent Ministerial Instructions should be processed in a given year to meet the target was an issue raised by witnesses. Advice on the appropriate balance between processing old backlogged applications and new applications was varied, with most witnesses recognizing the Government’s legal obligation to process all applications. (看,多数与会者认为政府对所有积案有处理的法律义务,所以,康尼怎么会(怎么就不会?)逆潮流(当下的潮流是收紧!)而动,冒天下之大不韪(这是情绪化的说法。哪个天?申请人的天是希望快速通过;CIC 的天是依法行政;加国目前的天是收紧移民社会向右转,康胖子的天是忽悠政绩。),置百万人的生活于不顾(法理上他没有必然要顾的义务。我的说法或许生硬,可那是事实。),而蛮干,而一刀切捏)(这个可不太象是技术派的说法。可以肯定地是,杏花春运兄对这个问题的解读和认知是站在一个比较乐观的角度上。) One witness suggested that this legal obligation was not accompanied by a timeframe for processing and urged that the Government prioritize Federal Skilled Workers currently in demand by the Canadian labour market, such as applications lodged under Ministerial Instructions.34
Another witness made the opposite argument, suggesting that the Government should restrict new applications under Ministerial Instructions for the short term and process primarily backlog applications. (解决的思路还是发布新的MI和更新的MI一个接一个的MI来限制新增流量,障眼法地使用积案一词。而积案怎么办,根本不说!! MI使我不禁想起几个歇后语:乌龟的屁股规定:乌龟翻跟头一个规定接着一个规定:乌龟背上一个小乌龟上面又有新规定。)He argued that eliminating (eliminate 的意思大约包括:丢弃 get rid of; 拒绝:reject; 抹去:remove; 排除使不包括在内 exclude。这就是说要赖帐了。)the backlog quickly is important because the backlog has negative effects on Canada's reputation, the operation of the immigration system, and the labour market, as well as on immigrants themselves.
He referenced research showing that younger immigrants have better labour market outcomes, saying “This implies that if an individual sits in the queue for three, four, or five years, there's a simultaneous deterioration in that person's ability to integrate into the Canadian labour market, and it reduces that person's lifetime earnings profile”.35
The Committee is sympathetic to those with applications in the backlog, some of whom have been waiting for years to receive a final decision. The oldest and largest backlog, that comprised of pre-February 2008 Federal Skilled Worker applications, has been reduced significantly in just over three years. The Committee is satisfied with this progress and urges the Department to continue processing these files as expeditiously as possible. We commend the Government for reducing the pre MI-1 backlog by 50%. This reduction was made two years ahead of schedule.
With regard to backlogs formed under Ministerial Instructions, some witnesses have suggested that the Government of Canada take all the applications received under Ministerial Instructions 1 that are in occupations eligible under MI-2 and MI-3 and process them on a first come, first-served basis. Since the Department learned how to control intake more successfully under MI-2 and MI-3, backlogs under Ministerial Instructions should only pose a temporary problem. Others have stated that we can dissolve the existing backlog by sending applicants a letter informing them that they can withdraw their application, and receive a refund.