IRCC keeping families together

Minister Fraser spoke in positive terms of improving the processing times for temporary resident visa (TRV) applicants. The families are anxious to bring members into Canada for a variety of reasons – to attend marriages, funerals, sick relatives, or just to bond with family members who are living in the country.

It is not surprising that family members want to reunite but it is surprising, for some, that government officials are working to that end. As a retired federal and provincial immigration officer, I can assure the readers that Minister Fraser is not alone in his efforts to make things work better for foreign nationals and Canadian hosts.

Minister Fraser has set the following standards for IRCC to deliver to program users: most TRVs will be processed in 30 days; spouses, partners, and dependents will be able to apply for an open work permit as soon as they submit an application for permanent residence inside Canada or under the in Canada class (SPCLC). This process appears to be a reworking of an existing measure for in-Canada applications, but the steps have been refined under the current requirement to submit all applications, including family class, online.

Minister Fraser announced that spousal and partner your phone? How many messages from Nigerian princes offering you $10 million did you get when e-mail began? applicants, along with other open work permit holders, whose permits are set to expire between August 1 and the end of 2023 will be able to extend their permits by an additional 18 months. A similar option was recently offered to many foreign student graduates with expired post-graduate work permits. Yes, to the nay sayers, the department actually identified the students in question and encouraged them to apply for the extensions. IRCC is not only promising changes but is also participating in making them happen.

With the advent of new AI tech, it is making it more difficult to spot a scam. Take the voice recognition software scam. AI can create an entire message by taking samples of someone’s voice. You may think you are receiving a call from a child, friend or family member asking for money to help bail them out of jail. It will sound like them, but is in fact, an AI generated message. As with anything, if it is too good to be true or too far-fetched, keep your wits about you. If you don’t know how to do that, ask ChatGPT to help.

Dale manages the communications department for a school district in B.C.

Immigration continues to be important for Canada’s future and our recovery from the global pandemic. Family reunification is an important pathway to attract more applicants and their spouses, partners, children, and other dependents to the country.

Minister Fraser can speak proudly of the efforts of his department to attract and retain newcomers by a number of changes including the bringing together of families. I have seen evidence of the improvement in departmental services and commend the government on their efforts to improve processing times, outcomes and decrease backlogs. The work is being done and we should pay respectful attention to the words of Minister Fraser in his press release.

“Family reunification through immigration is not only a matter of compassion; it is a fundamental pillar of Canadian society. Today’s announcement is a mandate commitment to help build inclusive and resilient communities. We are supporting Canadians and newcomers by reuniting families faster, and also allowing them to work and support themselves more quickly once they’re here. By doing so, Canada is helping newcomers achieve their true potential, while also strengthening Canada’s economy and social fabric.”

The early signs support the Minister’s optimism, and we should be more aware of the improvements and changes as they occur.

Michael Scott is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC, R525678) who has 30 years of experience with Immigration Canada and the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program. He currently works as a licensed consultant with Immigration Connexion International Ltd. Contact him at 204-691-1166 or 204-2270292. E-mail: mscott.ici@gmail. com.

When teachers attempt to convince their students why they should care about the study of history, they often say it is to prevent the past from repeating itself. This claim treats history as a message from the past, warning us of mistakes made in the past. In this way, the past can shape the present. However, the present also affects how we understand the past.

This is expressed in a quotation by L.S. Stavrianos, a world historian, who stated that “Each generation must write its own history, not because past histories are untrue but because in a rapidly changing world, new questions arise and new answers are needed.” This also reveals the fact that the discipline and study of history are not the simple memorization of past events, dates, or people. These make the foundation, though, of what historians do: interpret, explain, and try to understand the past.

This was demonstrated to me very recently in an excellent essay by Resil B. Mojares in his collection Interrogations in Philippine Cultural History, published in 2017 by the Ateneo de Manila University Press. In his article on Andres Bonifacio, Mojares states that “From [his] death in 1897 to the present,

ADRIAN...

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PE: How does your family feel about all this?

Adrian: My family is very supportive. Since I was little, I’ve always been flamboyant. I am very attuned to my feminine side. I liked playing with dolls rather than cars. I liked girl playmates more. My family accepts me for who I am.

PE: What do you wish to achieve by joining the pageant?

Adrian: I would like people to have a better understanding and acceptance of the LGBTQ + community.

I would like people to realize that transgender people are like everyone else just trying to live their lives. That is why my advocacy is trans visibility – to be seen, to be heard, to be accepted. To have the same dignity and rights as everyone else.

PE: Is there a particular issue that you want to highlight in joining the competition?

Adrian: People should stop treating trans people as abnormal, or that being one is a disease. Threats should stop. There should be more education and awareness about this.

PE: Have you experienced discrimination yourself because you’re transgender?

Adrian: Many times! I was called names; I was looked at funny when I tried to use the girls’ washroom in school. At estimates of his place in Philippine history have been entangled in the issue social classification, as part of the larger debate on the social and intellectual genealogy of the 1896 Philippine Revolution.” That is, did the Philippine Revolution come from the “masses” or from the educated Filipino elite? This question contrasts two major historical figures – Bonifacio and Jose Rizal, perhaps the most famous ilustrado in Philippine history.

The popular tradition of Bonifacio’s story was that he was a lower-class man, a “Great Plebeian” akin to the common man. Mojares, comparing the images of Bonifacio and Rizal, wrote that “in the popular imagination, [Bonifacio] is the man with the bolo, wearing camisa chino and kundiman trousers, set against the Westernattired Rizal with his book and overcoat.” Isabelo de los Reyes, writing shortly after the outbreak of the Revolution, described Bonifacio as a “simple warehouseman or storekeeper.”

However, Mojares demonstrates that Bonifacio was likely of a higher standing. He had education and was literate in Spanish, a mark of some distinction in late 19th century Philippines. His association with foreign trading