"CLASS-ACTION LAWSUITS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT"

Two groups of citizens have legal proceedings with two federal agencies. Unaccomplished immigrants - with the Ministry of Immigration and the Minister himself, students - with the Human Resources Department because of the loss of information about them.

Lawyers representing thousands of people, who were trying to immigrate to Canada under the program Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Immigration and Minister Jason Kenney.

These people sent their applications and all the necessary immigration documents, and were waiting for their fates, some of them – even for seven years.

However, in June of the last year, Minister Kenney’s Department canceled the program, and along with it all applications submitted before 28 February 2008.

As a result, about 300,000 people have lost their prospects to move to Canada.

Lawyers of the plaintiffs claim that the Department of Immigration together with the Minister, so to say, thrown in the trash the statements of future immigrants, thus violating the law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of People.

Plaintiffs insist on restoration of their applications. If their demands are met, the government will have to restore the documents of 96.700 people more, who applied at the same time as the plaintiffs. And if all the cancellations are re-established, Canada will have to provide the status of permanent resident for 280.000 applicants for immigration.

The Minister Jason Kenney has explained several times, that it was a necessary measure that allowed “to rake” the congestion that occurred in the federal immigration system. Otherwise, all it would have become unmanageable.

However, the plaintiffs’ lawyers, speaking on January 17 in the Federal Court, insisted on fact that Ottawa acted illegally. One of the defenders, Mario Bellissimo could discover injustice and even discrimination in the actions of the Minister Jason Kenney.

The lawyer drew the court’s attention to the fact that 81.4% of the cancelled immigration applications were filed by applicants from Asia, Middle East and Africa.

Mario Bellissimo argued in court that the decision to cancel the applications was motivated not by the intent to eliminate congestion in the system, but by a desire to remove certain candidates from the “waiting list”.

The lawyer, Keith Reimer, for interests of the Ministry, reminded that the process of immigration is controlled the government still. And the latter has the right to change its policies and take measures to control their programs.

The Department had no choice but not to consider already filed applications in order to get rid of congestion. And instead of the cancelled program a new one will take effect, the attorney Reimer noticed.

The Judge, Donald Rennie, asked if it was possible to proceed to another system without canceling the old one and almost simultaneously consider the foul they had.

Another lawyer among those who filed the lawsuit, Matthew Jeffrey, told the Judge that Minister Kenney was ethically wrong. The defender considers Minister’s actions “clearly and obviously not fair”. The hearing continues. Source: newspaper “Canadian Courier”, No. 5 February 1, 2013