The sponsorship system for immigrants needs to be revised to reflect the way Canadians define their family, according to a lawyer who specializes in the field.
"Canadians should understand that there are a lot of problems within the immigration system and one of the problems is we no longer see family unification as a core value of our immigration law -- even though it says on paper that we want families to be together," Avvy Go, clinic director at Metro Toronto Chinese and South East Asian Legal Clinic, told CTV's Canada AM.
Go's comments resonate with Mike Shamun who says he has been trying for nine years to bring members of his family to Canada. Shamun is one of 2,000 Iraqi Canadians who are currently trying to sponsor family members.
"I haven't seen my family for 25 years," Shaman said. "This is my second time I'm trying to sponsor them and everything doesn't go very well."
Go says that Shamun cannot sponsor his sister's family because of current immigration regulations. Current sponsorship rules allow the following people to be sponsored by an individual:
- Spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children
- Parents
- Grandparents
- Brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, grandsons or granddaughters who are orphaned, under 18 years of age and not married or in a common-law relationship.
However, brothers and sisters over the age of 18 or adult independent children cannot be sponsored. Potential applicants may, however, gain some points under the system if they apply under the Skilled Worker class if they have relatives in Canada.
"One of the big problems is . . . the way we define family is different from the way that the law defines family," Go said.
"So married brothers and sisters are not families, according to the immigration law. And also it takes a very long time because resources are not put in countries where the immigrants are applying to Canada."
Because of the situation, Shamun's efforts to sponsor his sister have taken place under Group of Five rules. A Group of Five refers to five or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents over the age of 18 who want to sponsor one or more refugees abroad to come to Canada and settle in their community.
However, Shamun says his family has been told the reason they have not been able to gain access to Canada is because they have not convinced the Canadian Consulate in Jordan that they have not been "harassed" enough to gain refugee status.
Shamun has been encouraged by Jim Karygiannis, Ontario MP for Scarborough-Agincourt to testify along with 150 Iraqi Canadians before the standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in October to talk about the persecution of Iraqi Christians like Shamun's sister and his family.
Shamun's sister, her husband and daughter fled nine years ago to Jordan to escape Saddam Hussein's rule and Shamun fears for their safety. Go feels that instances like the experiences of Shamun's family indicate the powers of visa officers should be reassessed.
"Visa officers have a lot of power. They're the ones that decide who can come in and who cannot. So all these problems need to be fixed," Go said.
"We need to broaden the definition of the family clause. We need to ensure there are enough resources to process these applications and we have to change the attitude of visa officers."
If you have any questions or comments regarding this series please email them to immigrationquestions@ctv.ca
