这是6月14号的判决书,连接来自加拿大联邦法庭的网站:
http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/2012/2012fc758/2012fc758.html
先来说说判决结果:
91和91前旧政的代表案例梁东的案子必须在120天内结案。
227的代表案例Ms. Gurung的要求 dismissed
227的dismissed 不是败诉。事实上,参加这个起诉的157个227的人,也都ME了,并且将在180天内结案。
91的代表案例已提前于7月份获签,其余35个已打分的也都ME。
[1] The applicants seek orders of mandamus compelling the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (Minister) to process their applications for permanent residence under the federal skilled worker (FSW) class.
[2] The applications at issue were selected through a case management process as representative cases for two groups of applicants whose FSW applications have not been processed to completion. Applicant Dong Liang represents 671 applicants who submitted their applications before February 27, 2008, when amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27(IRPA) were enacted through the Budget Implementation Act, 2008, SC 2008, c 28 or “Bill-C50” (pre-C50 applications). Applicant Phool Maya Gurung represents 154 applicants who submitted their applications between February 27, 2008 and June 26, 2010, a period of time during which eligibility for a FSW visa was governed by a set of Ministerial Instructions (MI1 applications). They both allege that the Minister has unreasonably delayed processing their applications by choosing to accord higher priority to applications submitted more recently and according to different criteria.
[3] For the reasons that follow, the application in respect of Mr. Liang is granted, and dismissed in respect of Ms. Gurung. No order is made in respect of the other applications held in abeyance pending the outcome of this litigation. The Court has been informed that the parties have agreed on a protocol to address those cases based on the outcome of these two applications.
判决书开宗明义解释了这次诉讼的性质:mandamus litigation,mandamus是要求法庭对政府发号施令,命令政府完成某种行为的诉讼。
有些人开始不明白,觉得告CIC没用,因为CIC没犯法。其实并不是犯法了才可以起诉,要求政府完成某项任务,无论政府有没有犯法,都可以通过法庭来解决问题!
但是接下来的集体诉讼class-action,就是状告政府犯法,这次政府犯了什么法呢?Bill of Rights!当然政府不认为它犯了法,需要法庭来判决它有没有犯法。这个class-action,并不受申请人的主观想法影响,它是加拿大本国的三权制衡行为,是必然会发生的。
Applicant Dong Liang represents 671 applicants who submitted their applications before February 27, 2008
这里白纸黑字写的很清楚,梁东代表671个申请人,这671人,有91前旧政的,91的,有Caips打分的,也有没打分的。他代表的是这个整体,而不是已打分的35人。
The applications at issue were selected through a case management process as representative cases for two groups of applicants whose FSW applications have not been processed to completion
have not been processed就是我们没有S2,以及S2了但Caips没打分的人
to completion则是那35人。
Background: Changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program
[4] By 2008, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) faced an enormous backlog of FSW applications. Over 600,000 applications were extant, a number which would only continue to grow since incoming applications continually exceeded the department’s processing capacity. This backlog, or more precisely, the lag time between the application, its processing and ultimate assessment, made it increasingly difficult to align candidates’ experience and skills to Canada’s prevailing labour market needs. Any changes to the eligibility criteria would not truly take effect for several years when those applications were finally processed.
[5] In response to this problem, the IRPA was amended in February 2008 to introduce section 87.3. The amendments authorized the Minister to issue instructions regarding which applications would be eligible for processing (Ministerial Instructions) and removed the obligation to process every application received. The amendments granted the Minister broad authority to triage the applications according to revised eligibility criteria, including the establishment of categories of applicants, global levels or quotas for all FSW applications, and sub-levels or quotas for particular occupations.
这段背景介绍,说明了2008年227政策实施之前的情况,当时的联邦技术移民积压人数超过60万,所以保守党修改了移民法,出台了87.3
The Ministerial Instructions
[7] Since this amendment, the Minister has published four different sets of Ministerial Instructions. The first set of Ministerial Instructions was published on November 29, 2008 (MI1). They applied to applications received on or after February 27, 2008. Pursuant to the MI1, applications would only be eligible to be processed if the applicant: had experience in one of 38 listed occupations; an arranged offer of employment (AEO); or was legally residing in Canada as a temporary foreign worker or international student.
自从87.3出台之后,出台了4个不同的部长指令。因为部长指令,227之前的人,如果不符合38项职业或者没有AEO,他们的案子就不会即时处理。
[8] The MI1 were ultimately unsuccessful in restraining the growth of applications. The backlog diminished at first, but eventually application levels increased beyond the levels before Bill C-50. Thus, on June 26, 2010, the second set of Ministerial Instructions was published (MI2). They applied to applications received on or after that date. The MI2 directed that applications would only be eligible to be processed if the applicant had an AEO or the applicant had experience in one of 29, as opposed to 38, listed occupations. The MI2 introduced a global cap on FSW applications: a maximum of 20,000 applications (excluding those with an AEO) were to be placed into processing each year. Within that cap, a maximum of 1,000 applications per occupational category were to be processed each year. Applications exceeding that cap would be returned unprocessed.
但是第一个部长指令没有成功遏制不断增加的申请人数,所以MI2,也就是626出台了,这一次,MI1也就是227的也开始倒霉了,如果不符合29项并撤案重投,也丧失了优先权。
值得注意的是,这一段开始拆穿了康尼的一个谎言,他认为海量积压是自由党造成的,但他自己的MI1造成的积压,比C50之前的更严重:
The backlog diminished at first, but eventually application levels increased beyond the levels before Bill C-50
[9] On June 27, 2011, the third set of Ministerial Instructions was published (MI3). They applied to applications received on or after July 1, 2011. The MI3 reduced the total annual cap for FSW applications to 10,000, with a maximum of 500 per occupation. The eligibility criteria in the MI2 groups (applicants with an AEO or experience in the 29 listed occupations) remained the same.
[10] The fourth set of Ministerial Instructions, published in November 2011 (MI4), did not affect the occupation list, global levels or occupational caps, but created a new stream of eligible applicationsnamely, international students currently studying in, or recently graduated from, Canadian Ph.D. programs. This new stream was capped at 1,000 applications each year. Other than adding to the processing burden on CIC, the MI4 are not relevant to these applications.
以上分别介绍了第三和第四个部长指令。
[11] The 2008 amendments and the ensuing Ministerial Instructions have had two main consequences: first, for all applications submitted after each set of instructions took effect, applicants needed to meet the revised eligibility criteria or the application would not be processed. This change prevented, at least from the respondent’s perspective, the backlog from continuing to grow. The total cap of 20,000, then 10,000 and the related occupational sub-caps allowed CIC to return applications once the annual cap was met. Second and most important to the applicants in this case, the instructions created a hierarchy of processing priority among FSW applications: those received under MI2 and MI3 were given the highest priority, followed by applications received under MI1 and finally, pre-C50 applications.
这一段比较形象的说明了康尼的后来先得的插队政策是怎么运作的。
[12] This has not resulted in a complete halt to the processing of pre-C50 applications. According to the affidavit of J. McNamee submitted by the Minister, 34% of all FSW visas issued in 2011 were issued to pre-C50 applicants.
[13] However, the Minister’s instructions have indisputably delayed the processing of the pre-C50 applications. Furthermore, the MI2 and MI3 instructions delayed the processing of MI1 applications, since MI2 and MI3 applications have been accorded the highest processing priority.
这一段是CIC方面狡辩,C50之后,旧案并没有完全停止审理,在2011年,34%的技术移民签证给了C50之前的旧案。
13] However, the Minister’s instructions have indisputably delayed the processing of the pre-C50 applications. Furthermore, the MI2 and MI3 instructions delayed the processing of MI1 applications, since MI2 and MI3 applications have been accorded the highest processing priority.
法官认为,部长指令毫无疑问延误了Pre-C50申请人的案件处理进展,626和71又延误了227
Pre-C50 Representative Case (Liang)
[14] The representative applicant for the pre-C50 applications, Mr. Liang, is a citizen of China. He submitted an application for permanent residence under the FSW class as an IT project manager. It was received by CIC on October 11, 2007. According to the Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System (CAIPS) notes in his file, he received a positive selection decision on March 10, 2010, having attained 81 points (well over the minimum required 67 points).
[15] Despite the positive selection decision, Mr. Liang’s application did not move to acceptance and remains outstanding. When Mr. Liang inquired with CIC as to the timeline for completing his application he received an email response from the Beijing visa post, dated June 7, 2011, which stated in part:
At this time, we are not actively processing Federal Skilled Worker cases submitted before February 27, 2008 as we have sufficient applications in process to meet our assigned targets. Updates on the processing of applications submitted before February 27, 2008 will be provided when new information is available.
[16] The respondent characterizes this as a mere suspension of Liang’s application, suggesting that what the officer at the Beijing Visa post intended to say was that either or both of the global and occupational levels had been reached. The Minister contends that this suspension does not amount to unreasonable delay, as it was now, following the 2008 amendments, authorized by legislation.
以上是代表案例梁东的情况,以及北京使馆给他邮件解释为什么他的案子不被处理,配额不够,需要进一步指示。。。
辩护律师认为梁东的案子被无理悬置停审,但是移民部长认为,他的案子并不是毫无理由被悬置的,他拖延梁东案子的尚方宝剑是2008年的C50修正案。
http://decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/2012/2012fc758/2012fc758.html
先来说说判决结果:
91和91前旧政的代表案例梁东的案子必须在120天内结案。
227的代表案例Ms. Gurung的要求 dismissed
227的dismissed 不是败诉。事实上,参加这个起诉的157个227的人,也都ME了,并且将在180天内结案。
91的代表案例已提前于7月份获签,其余35个已打分的也都ME。
[1] The applicants seek orders of mandamus compelling the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (Minister) to process their applications for permanent residence under the federal skilled worker (FSW) class.
[2] The applications at issue were selected through a case management process as representative cases for two groups of applicants whose FSW applications have not been processed to completion. Applicant Dong Liang represents 671 applicants who submitted their applications before February 27, 2008, when amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27(IRPA) were enacted through the Budget Implementation Act, 2008, SC 2008, c 28 or “Bill-C50” (pre-C50 applications). Applicant Phool Maya Gurung represents 154 applicants who submitted their applications between February 27, 2008 and June 26, 2010, a period of time during which eligibility for a FSW visa was governed by a set of Ministerial Instructions (MI1 applications). They both allege that the Minister has unreasonably delayed processing their applications by choosing to accord higher priority to applications submitted more recently and according to different criteria.
[3] For the reasons that follow, the application in respect of Mr. Liang is granted, and dismissed in respect of Ms. Gurung. No order is made in respect of the other applications held in abeyance pending the outcome of this litigation. The Court has been informed that the parties have agreed on a protocol to address those cases based on the outcome of these two applications.
判决书开宗明义解释了这次诉讼的性质:mandamus litigation,mandamus是要求法庭对政府发号施令,命令政府完成某种行为的诉讼。
有些人开始不明白,觉得告CIC没用,因为CIC没犯法。其实并不是犯法了才可以起诉,要求政府完成某项任务,无论政府有没有犯法,都可以通过法庭来解决问题!
但是接下来的集体诉讼class-action,就是状告政府犯法,这次政府犯了什么法呢?Bill of Rights!当然政府不认为它犯了法,需要法庭来判决它有没有犯法。这个class-action,并不受申请人的主观想法影响,它是加拿大本国的三权制衡行为,是必然会发生的。
Applicant Dong Liang represents 671 applicants who submitted their applications before February 27, 2008
这里白纸黑字写的很清楚,梁东代表671个申请人,这671人,有91前旧政的,91的,有Caips打分的,也有没打分的。他代表的是这个整体,而不是已打分的35人。
The applications at issue were selected through a case management process as representative cases for two groups of applicants whose FSW applications have not been processed to completion
have not been processed就是我们没有S2,以及S2了但Caips没打分的人
to completion则是那35人。
Background: Changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program
[4] By 2008, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) faced an enormous backlog of FSW applications. Over 600,000 applications were extant, a number which would only continue to grow since incoming applications continually exceeded the department’s processing capacity. This backlog, or more precisely, the lag time between the application, its processing and ultimate assessment, made it increasingly difficult to align candidates’ experience and skills to Canada’s prevailing labour market needs. Any changes to the eligibility criteria would not truly take effect for several years when those applications were finally processed.
[5] In response to this problem, the IRPA was amended in February 2008 to introduce section 87.3. The amendments authorized the Minister to issue instructions regarding which applications would be eligible for processing (Ministerial Instructions) and removed the obligation to process every application received. The amendments granted the Minister broad authority to triage the applications according to revised eligibility criteria, including the establishment of categories of applicants, global levels or quotas for all FSW applications, and sub-levels or quotas for particular occupations.
这段背景介绍,说明了2008年227政策实施之前的情况,当时的联邦技术移民积压人数超过60万,所以保守党修改了移民法,出台了87.3
The Ministerial Instructions
[7] Since this amendment, the Minister has published four different sets of Ministerial Instructions. The first set of Ministerial Instructions was published on November 29, 2008 (MI1). They applied to applications received on or after February 27, 2008. Pursuant to the MI1, applications would only be eligible to be processed if the applicant: had experience in one of 38 listed occupations; an arranged offer of employment (AEO); or was legally residing in Canada as a temporary foreign worker or international student.
自从87.3出台之后,出台了4个不同的部长指令。因为部长指令,227之前的人,如果不符合38项职业或者没有AEO,他们的案子就不会即时处理。
[8] The MI1 were ultimately unsuccessful in restraining the growth of applications. The backlog diminished at first, but eventually application levels increased beyond the levels before Bill C-50. Thus, on June 26, 2010, the second set of Ministerial Instructions was published (MI2). They applied to applications received on or after that date. The MI2 directed that applications would only be eligible to be processed if the applicant had an AEO or the applicant had experience in one of 29, as opposed to 38, listed occupations. The MI2 introduced a global cap on FSW applications: a maximum of 20,000 applications (excluding those with an AEO) were to be placed into processing each year. Within that cap, a maximum of 1,000 applications per occupational category were to be processed each year. Applications exceeding that cap would be returned unprocessed.
但是第一个部长指令没有成功遏制不断增加的申请人数,所以MI2,也就是626出台了,这一次,MI1也就是227的也开始倒霉了,如果不符合29项并撤案重投,也丧失了优先权。
值得注意的是,这一段开始拆穿了康尼的一个谎言,他认为海量积压是自由党造成的,但他自己的MI1造成的积压,比C50之前的更严重:
The backlog diminished at first, but eventually application levels increased beyond the levels before Bill C-50
[9] On June 27, 2011, the third set of Ministerial Instructions was published (MI3). They applied to applications received on or after July 1, 2011. The MI3 reduced the total annual cap for FSW applications to 10,000, with a maximum of 500 per occupation. The eligibility criteria in the MI2 groups (applicants with an AEO or experience in the 29 listed occupations) remained the same.
[10] The fourth set of Ministerial Instructions, published in November 2011 (MI4), did not affect the occupation list, global levels or occupational caps, but created a new stream of eligible applicationsnamely, international students currently studying in, or recently graduated from, Canadian Ph.D. programs. This new stream was capped at 1,000 applications each year. Other than adding to the processing burden on CIC, the MI4 are not relevant to these applications.
以上分别介绍了第三和第四个部长指令。
[11] The 2008 amendments and the ensuing Ministerial Instructions have had two main consequences: first, for all applications submitted after each set of instructions took effect, applicants needed to meet the revised eligibility criteria or the application would not be processed. This change prevented, at least from the respondent’s perspective, the backlog from continuing to grow. The total cap of 20,000, then 10,000 and the related occupational sub-caps allowed CIC to return applications once the annual cap was met. Second and most important to the applicants in this case, the instructions created a hierarchy of processing priority among FSW applications: those received under MI2 and MI3 were given the highest priority, followed by applications received under MI1 and finally, pre-C50 applications.
这一段比较形象的说明了康尼的后来先得的插队政策是怎么运作的。
[12] This has not resulted in a complete halt to the processing of pre-C50 applications. According to the affidavit of J. McNamee submitted by the Minister, 34% of all FSW visas issued in 2011 were issued to pre-C50 applicants.
[13] However, the Minister’s instructions have indisputably delayed the processing of the pre-C50 applications. Furthermore, the MI2 and MI3 instructions delayed the processing of MI1 applications, since MI2 and MI3 applications have been accorded the highest processing priority.
这一段是CIC方面狡辩,C50之后,旧案并没有完全停止审理,在2011年,34%的技术移民签证给了C50之前的旧案。
13] However, the Minister’s instructions have indisputably delayed the processing of the pre-C50 applications. Furthermore, the MI2 and MI3 instructions delayed the processing of MI1 applications, since MI2 and MI3 applications have been accorded the highest processing priority.
法官认为,部长指令毫无疑问延误了Pre-C50申请人的案件处理进展,626和71又延误了227
Pre-C50 Representative Case (Liang)
[14] The representative applicant for the pre-C50 applications, Mr. Liang, is a citizen of China. He submitted an application for permanent residence under the FSW class as an IT project manager. It was received by CIC on October 11, 2007. According to the Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System (CAIPS) notes in his file, he received a positive selection decision on March 10, 2010, having attained 81 points (well over the minimum required 67 points).
[15] Despite the positive selection decision, Mr. Liang’s application did not move to acceptance and remains outstanding. When Mr. Liang inquired with CIC as to the timeline for completing his application he received an email response from the Beijing visa post, dated June 7, 2011, which stated in part:
At this time, we are not actively processing Federal Skilled Worker cases submitted before February 27, 2008 as we have sufficient applications in process to meet our assigned targets. Updates on the processing of applications submitted before February 27, 2008 will be provided when new information is available.
[16] The respondent characterizes this as a mere suspension of Liang’s application, suggesting that what the officer at the Beijing Visa post intended to say was that either or both of the global and occupational levels had been reached. The Minister contends that this suspension does not amount to unreasonable delay, as it was now, following the 2008 amendments, authorized by legislation.
以上是代表案例梁东的情况,以及北京使馆给他邮件解释为什么他的案子不被处理,配额不够,需要进一步指示。。。
辩护律师认为梁东的案子被无理悬置停审,但是移民部长认为,他的案子并不是毫无理由被悬置的,他拖延梁东案子的尚方宝剑是2008年的C50修正案。
最后编辑: 2012-09-09