Rekha practices primarily in immigration law.  She has extensive experience with temporary resident visas, express entry, federal skilled workers, Canadian experience class, Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program, family class sponsorships, refugee claims, pre-removal risk assessments, and in-Canada humanitarian and compassionate permanent residence applications.

Rekha has focused much of her practice on Federal Court Judicial Review applications of various types of negative immigration-related decisions.

Rekha had appeared before the Alberta Provincial Court and the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.  She has also appeared extensively before the Federal Court of Canada and Immigration Tribunals such as the Immigration Division, Refugee Protection Division, and the Immigration Appeal Division.

Rekha is the past-Chair (2015-2016 & 2016-2017) of the Southern Alberta Branch of the Canadian Bar Association, Immigration Section.

In this episode Rekha and I had a very engaging discussion of all sorts of issues related to challenging Removal Orders and answered some of the most common questions about residency requirement for Canadian Permanent Residents:

• How can you lose your PR status in Canada?
• How much time do you have to stay in Canada to maintain your PR Status?
• Can a Canadian PR be turned away at the border for not meeting the residency requirement?
• How much time you have for appealing your Removal Order?
• Does the process of filing an appeal to IAD differ for in-Canada and outside of Canada appellants?
• Are there any exceptions to the residency requirement?
• What does a hearing at Immigration Appeals Division look like?
• How can you justify your absence in Canada?

Sponsor:

• Canadian Immigration Institute – Founded by Immigration Lawyer Mark Holthe 

Affiliate Program:

• Click on this link to become an affiliate of the Canadian Immigration Institute: https://www.canadianimmigrationinstitute.com/become-an-affiliate
  • OR,  go to the Canadian Immigration Institute main page and scroll down to the very bottom and click on “Affiliate”.
  • Earn 30% when someone purchases via your affiliate link

• Additional Resources:

  • Rekha’s firm: http://www.caronpartners.com/
  • How to contact Rekha: RMcNutt@caronpartners.com 
  • Canadian Immigration Institute: https://www.canadianimmigrationinstitute.com/

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

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Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

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We also encourage you to subscribe to our Canadian Immigration Podcast on Spotify.

In Season 1 Episode 15 released on May 11, 2016, I invited Canadian immigration lawyer Chris Veeman to join me to talk about the “then” recently announced changes to the Canadian citizenship process. Well it’s been over one full year later and we are still waiting….

In this Episode I invited Chris back for an encore performance to bring us up to speed on where we are at right now and how much longer we are going to have to wait to see these significant changes become law.

Chris Veeman is a Member of the Law Society of Saskatchewan. He practices immigration law in Saskatoon within his own law office, Veeman Law.

He is a graduate of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law (2003). A former Federal Court of Canada law clerk to the Honourable Madam Justice Sandra J. Simpson, he has been practicing immigration law since 2003. He has been based in Saskatoon (his home town) since 2004.

He has been invited to appear as a witness on citizenship matters before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on several occasions (2008, 2014, 2016), and has represented clients in numerous high-profile refugee, immigration and citizenship cases.

He served as an Executive Member of the CBA’s National Immigration Law section (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) and authors the Chapter on the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program in Carswell’s text A Practical Guide to Provincial Nominee Programs in Canadian Immigration Law. 

In this episode Chris and I discuss the following changes that will be coming (hopefully before Canada Day, July 1, 2017) to Canada’s Citizenship process :

1. revocation of citizenship;
2. reversal of the past Conservative government’s changes to residency requirements;
3. how time spent as a temporary resident will be counted towards eligibility for citizenship;
4. age limits for language testing.

[Tweet “Changes to Canadian Citizenship are almost here!“]

Additional Resources:

• The best way to reach Chris Veeman: www.veemanlaw.com
• Current Citizenship Policy: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/cit/index.asp
• Current Status of Bill C-6: http://www.parl.gc.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?billId=8117654&Language=E&Mode=1

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

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Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

Periodically I answer listener questions on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you. You can also leave me a voice message on the Ask an Immigration Question widget on the side bar of this website.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

….So with high rates of non-compliance within the low skill ranks of the TFWP, coupled with the equally acknowledged need for foreign labour in various industries, I am going to share with you exactly why I feel Express Entry is the solution to all that ails the TFWP.

The government will no longer need to perpetuate the fiction that the TFWP is actually being enforced?

The last time I checked, there has not been a new employer added to the government’s naughty list since November of 2014. Without trying to be too critical, the government’s enforcement mechanism has been like a barking dog with no bite.

After a while, it doesn’t matter how loud the dog barks, the burglar knows the dog isn’t going to bite, so they just keep on stuffing your jewelry into their pillow case

Since 2011, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) (collectively referred to as the “government”) keep ratcheting up the consequences of non-compliance with employers …. but in the end, they rarely punish malfeasance.

Bad employers (and I am going to keep referring to them as this because that is exactly what they are) understand that they can do pretty much whatever they want with their vulnerable foreign workers. Although some initial fear may be struck with each incrementally loud enforcement bark, any apprehension quickly disappears with the realization that no bite is ever coming.

The Administrative Monetary Penalty (AMP) regime, that became law on December 1, 2015, could be helpful in deterrence. However, we have heard virtually nothing regarding enforcement since this latest round of barking commenced. In fact, there has been very little of anything describing how the AMPs will even be administered.

It amazes me that the government can enact arguably punitive legislation against employers without providing the basis upon which the penalties will be applied…but this is also a topic for another blog or maybe even another Podcast.

If there has been any enforcement, [note the inflection in the word “has”] it has come at the hands of the fearsome Integrity Service Branch Officer who goes to all possible lengths to identify the terrible corporate villain who dares to give their beloved foreign worker CEO a 3% annual raise after he had the audacity of earning the company and all its Canadian employees $50 million in the previous year….non-compliance in all its horror!

What a colossal waste of time and governmental resources.

Officers need to conduct site visits

If each of these officers donned their coat, hopped in their bat mobile and actually popped in on the premises of the extensive list of “bad employers,” most assuredly building through ESDC’s online fraud reporting tool, a disincentive would actually be created.

If anyone actually knows how many tips have been generated to date, I would love to know. Clearly they are not being investigated as robustly as previous Minister Jason Kenney assured us all when the TFWP was overhauled/gutted in 2014.

I can’t help but quote from the government’s very own “Bark Sheet” released simultaneously with the announcement that “once and for all” the TFWP was being overhauled and “bad employers” ….well….their days were numbered:

Stronger Enforcement and Tougher Penalties

Increasing the Number and Scope of Inspections

Given concerns over abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), the Government is making a significant investment in its TFWP inspection regime.

Despite the fact that the Low Skill TFW Pilot Project was created in 2002, no inspections were done at that time. In recent years, the Government began conducting inspections, and there is now a dedicated team of inspectors for the TFWP at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) Nevertheless, an additional investment into the TFWP inspection regime is required to ensure stronger enforcement.

Effective immediately, the Government is massively increasing the number of inspections so that one in four employers using temporary foreign workers will be inspected each year These inspections will be as a result of tips, employers being deemed high-risk and random audits.

And we must not forget how seriously those critical “tips” were to be taken by that newly hired team of dedicated inspectors. Pulling once again from the “Bark Sheet”:

Increased Detection of Abuse

The Government launched a Confidential Tip Line in April 2014 for Canadians to report abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). More than 1,000 tips had been received to date.

In addition to the tip line, a new Complaints Web page has been launched to allow the public to submit tips easily and securely online.

The Government will continue to follow up on each and every complaint to make sure that employers who are breaking the rules are caught and face the consequences.
We encourage all Canadians who have concerns or information to call our anonymous and confidential tip line. Any allegation of abuse will be investigated.

To report abuse of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, contact:

Service Canada Confidential Tip Line
1-866-602-9448 or
visit www.esdc.gc.ca/tfwp

I think you get the picture. Lot’s more barking and very little bite.

What the program needed more than anything was actual investigation, not overhauling.

Yes. Please do strengthen the enforcement regulations if they were somehow deficient.  However, after doing so, you have to actually follow through. Especially when you have so clearly set it out in writing.

If the regulations call for site visits, then actually visit the job sites and conduct real investigations. If the regulations call for AMPs, then fine employers that abuse the program!

Since the summer of 2014, the TFWP has been pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars (likely well into the millions [I couldn’t find the actual figures]. With an application fee of $1,000 per foreign worker named in an LMIA application, and high rates of refusal, it is easy to see how the TFWP should have plenty of resources available to actually honour the commitments made in the “Bark Sheet.”

Yes…. I know that the Integrity Services Branch has been conducting lot’s of “investigations” since the program was overhauled. However, these paper based virtual inspections are targeting the wrong kind of non-compliance. What is being turned up is loads of non-compliance for such horrific violations as “fractional” wage increases, slight occupational shifts, and failing to notify Service Canada when a foreign worker stops working and leaves the country.

Seriously… is this the best use of program resources?

If you are inspecting a bad employer, their records are going to show exactly what they want you to see. Remember, they have already required the foreign worker to repay them the cash difference between the LMIA wage and the under-the-table wage they forced the foreign worker to accept.

I’m not so naïve to believe that a site visit will uncover all elements of non-compliance and that a paper based review is ineffective in turning up non-compliance and abuse. However, by actually going to the job site and interviewing both the Canadian and foreign worker employees from time to time, you are sending a message to bad employers that you are serious.

Now of course I know that virtual inspections must have turned up some serious violations; however, if this is the case why have there been no new additions to the governments naughty list in the past two years? 

In fact, the list has actually shrunk versus grown.

Everyone remembers the CBC Go Public piece entitled, “McDonald’s accused of favouring foreign workers” by reporter Kathy Tomlinson, that kick started the whole overhaul to the program back in the Spring of 2014. Glen Bishop, the owner of the McDonald’s franchise highlighted in the article saw his franchise placed on the “black list” and then experienced the pleasure of McDonalds allegedly stripping away all of his franchises as a result of the ensuing investigation.

This is what Ms. Tomlinson reported:

As a result of Go Public’s inquiries, the government has suspended all pending foreign worker permits for the three McDonald’s locations owned by franchisee Glen Bishop and has blacklisted his franchise from using the program, pending the outcome of the probe.

Guess what the outcome of the probe was?

Why don’t you take a second look at the current list of “black listed” employers.

Why?

Because the suspension levied against Glen Bishop’s x-franchise has been lifted and they are no longer on the list any more. In fact, Glen Bishop is now suing McDonalds for damages he allegedly incurred when McDonalds forced him to turn over the franchises when they were in full scale damage control mode following the CBC Go Public article.

I will repeat once again that if any semblance of serious enforcement had occurred at the early stages of the low skill program, there would have been no need for an overhaul.

The public shaming exacted by CBC Go Public on the government would never have occurred. And most importantly, if the overhaul did not take place, the undeserved punishment that was exacted on the good employers (low skill and high skill alike) would have also never occurred.

Stay tuned for Part 3 which will be released tomorrow. The story keeps unfolding….

Please provide your comments below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the TFWP.

In this episode of the Canadian Immigration Podcast, I share with you where the CIP is headed into the future. I honestly believe this Episode is going to be the one that I look back on and recognize as the Episode that changed it all. Look out – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the CIP is going to pull back the curtain!

After attending the CBA’s National Immigration Conference in Vancouver last month, I had an epiphany. No longer am I going to hoard this Podcast all to myself.

Listen in to this Podcast if you want to know what I have in store for the Canadian Immigration landscape! I am unbelievably excited and I know that the future of Canadian Immigration will never be the same again.

Oh, and by the way…..here is a sneak peak into the amazing guests that are joining me in the coming weeks and months:

1. Ravi Jain, Green and Spiegel LLP: http://www.gands.com/canadian-immigration-lawyers/ravi-jain/
2. Rekha McNutt, Caron and Partners: http://www.caronpartners.com/rekha-p-mcnutt/
3. Marina Sedai, Sedai Law Office: https://immigrationcitizenshiplaw.com/our-team/marina-sedai/
4. Jeffrey Lowe, Lowe and Company: http://www.canadavisalaw.com/about-us/
5. Les Morley, Morley Law Office: http://www.lesmorley.com/leslie-h-morley-bio.html

[Tweet “Canadian Immigration World – Look out!“]

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

Topics for our Next Podcast

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

Periodically I answer listener questions on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you. You can also leave me a voice message on the Ask an Immigration Question widget on the side bar of this website.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love

If you are a permanent resident of Canada considering on applying for Canadian citizenship, you are likely asking yourself….”why is it so dang hard to qualify?” Well… this Podcast is going to make your day just a little brighter! Chris Veeman, a well respected immigration lawyer based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, shares some great insight on Bill C-6 and the Liberal Government’s proposed changes to Canada’s Citizenship Act and how these changes are going to make a lot of international students, foreign workers, and permanent residents a whole lot happier about their chances of becoming Canadian citizens.

It was a pleasure to have Chris Veeman on the Podcast as a guest. Having had the opportunity to appear as a witness before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration including recent changes to our Citizenship laws, Chris was the ideal choice to demystify what the Liberals have in store for us with Bill C-6: An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to another Act.

If you are even considering applying for Canadian citizenship, you may just want to hold off until you have had a chance to hear what Chris has to say about the future of Canadian citizenship……this is a good news story.

UPDATE: It looks like the Liberals are hoping to get Bill  C-6 passed for a Canada Day celebration of Citizenship on July 1, 2016. However, it has to get through the Conservative dominated Senate first. See the following Hill Times article for more information: http://goo.gl/CW9wKu.

Highlights of what the Liberals are proposing to change with Bill C-6:

1. Repealing provisions in the Citizenship Act that allow for citizenship to be revoked on grounds that only apply to dual nationals.
2. Eliminating the requirement that citizenship applicants must intend to continue to reside in Canada.
3. Facilitating the pathway to citizenship for temporary residents by again allowing the time spent in Canada prior to becoming a permanent resident to count towards the physical presence requirement for citizenship.

[Tweet “Canadian Citizenship – Hear the good news on the horizon!“]

Additional Resources:

• The best way to reach Chris Veeman:
  • E-mail: chris@veemanlaw.com
  • Website: veemanlaw.com/wp
• Bill C-6: https://openparliament.ca/bills/42-1/C-6/ 
• Standing Committee Reports:  http://goo.gl/ZSsoGv

Listen to Mark Holthe’s Canadian Immigration Podcast

Topics for our Next Podcast

Binge on all of our Canadian Immigration Podcast Episodes!

If you want to listen to more episodes, you will find all the episodes here.

Ask Mark an Immigration Question

Periodically I answer listener questions on my podcast. If you have a question, comment, thought or concern, you can do so by clicking here. We’d love to hear from you. You can also leave me a voice message on the Ask an Immigration Question widget on the side bar of this website.

Subscribe to the Canadian Immigration Podcast

If you have enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe.

If you enjoyed the show, please rate it on iTunes and write a brief review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and raising the visibility of the show. Share the Love