Archives for 1997

Indications at present are that the Pilot Project for Software Professionals has been extended until March of 1998.

This project, aimed at countering a perceived shortage of skilled computer professionals in Canada, removes the requirements of validation of job offers in order to obtain employment authorizations for certain computer software related professions.

Additional information can be obtained at the Software Human Resources Council’s Web Site at: www.shrc.ca

The Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA) and Regulations require that all Vehicles imported into Canada comply with the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) in effect on the date the vehicle was manufactured. The requirements apply to the following vehicle classes if, when imported, they are less than fifteen (15) years old and to all buses manufactured after January 1, 1971.

1. Vehicles (other than buses) manufactured more than fifteen (15) years before their date of importation

– Vehicles fifteen years old and older (other than buses) are exempt from the Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and can be imported into Canada.

2. Vehicles (other than buses) less than fifteen (15) years old, up to and including the 1984 model year

Vehicles in this category can be imported into Canada if they have been certified by their original manufacturer as complying with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. Proof of this certification is the Statement of Compliance label affixed to the driver’s door or door frame by the original manufacturer or a letter from the original manufacturer.

3. Vehicles (other than buses) from the 1985 model year to date

– Vehicles in this category can be imported into Canada if they meet requirements (a) through (f) below.

(a) – All vehicles must bear a Statement of Compliance (SOC) label affixed by the original manufacturer or be accompanied by a letter from the original manufacturer indicating that they were certified to comply with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.(Applicable to all vehicle classes.)

(b) Passenger cars, motorhomes and limousines must be on the List of Vehicles Admissible from the U.S. (leaflet CL 9203 E). If a passenger car is not on that list, the importer must obtain written certification from the original manufacturer indicating that the vehicle complies with Canadian standards CMVSS 210 (seat belt anchorages), CMVSS 210.1 (tether anchorages) and CMVSS 215 (bumpers). (Applicable to passenger cars only). If a motorhome or limousine is not on that list, the importer may contact Transport Canada to ascertain the status of the vehicle. (Applicable to motorhomes and limousines.)

(c) The importer must ensure that CMVSS 101 and 123 (metric markings on speedometer) are complied with by having a speedometer that is calibrated to display vehicle speed in kilometers per hour. Should the vehicle not have a speedometer with metric markings, the importer must correct it by affixing adhesive labels to adjust the speedometer graduations to read in kilometers per hour.(Applicable to passenger cars, mpvs, motorhomes, buses, trucks, motorcycles and chassis~abs.)

(d) The importer must ensure that CMVSS 108 (daytime running lights) is complied with if the vehicle being imported was manufactured after November 30,1989. This requirement can be met by the importer installing a daytime running light kit. (Applicable to passenger cars, buses, chassis-cabs if applicable, mpvs motorhomes, motorcycles and trucks.)

(e) The importer must ensure that there are no outstanding recalls (Notice of Defect) on the vehicle being imported. This requirement can be met by having the manufacturer’s dealer run the vehicle identification number of the subject vehicle on their service computer. A letter or computer printout from the dealer indicating no outstanding recalls would be proof of compliance.(Applicable to all vehicle classes.)

(f) Vehicles equipped with airbags must bear a bilingual maintenance label in accordance with CMVSS 208(37). To meet this requirement we suggest that the importer contacts the vehicle manufacturer to obtain the proper label.(Applicable to passenger cars, buses, trucks, mpvs and motorhomes.)

LICENSING and other PROVINCIAL/TERRITORIAL REQUIREMENTS

The licensing and registration of vehicles in Canada fall within Provincial/Territorial jurisdictions which may have additional requirements (e.g. trailers may require brakes and a break-away device). You must contact the Provincial/Territorial government in the Province/Territory in which you will be residing for information on road use, licensing and registration of vehicles.

Additional Information can be obtained from:

Transport Canada,
Vehicle Importation,
13th Floor, Canada Bldg.,
344 Slater Street,
OttawaON KIAON5
Phone: 1-800-333-0558
Facsimile: (613) 998-4831
Revenue Canada,
Customs, Excise and Taxation,
Traveler’s Directorate,
Ottawa ON KIA OLS

Automated Customs information System,
Phone: (613) 993-05341(902) 426-29111(604) 666-0545

OTTAWA, October 23, 1997 — Lucienne Robillard, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and M.P. for Westmount/Ville-Marie, today tabled in the House of Commons the 1998 Immigration Plan, entitled A Stronger Canada.

The Immigration Plan for 1998 sets 200,000 – 225,000 as the overall range of immigrants and refugees which is 5,000 higher than the levels announced in the plan for 1997 (195,000 to 220,000). The 1998 number includes 175,900 – 192,700 immigrants and 24,100 – 32,300 refugees. Within the immigrant category, 115,900 – 127,900 are in the economic class (including their dependants) and 53,500 – 58,300 are in the family class.

“These aren’t arbitrary numbers. The decision to raise the levels was made after careful consideration with a view to establishing the number of newcomers who will benefit Canada and Canadians,” the Minister noted. “This slight increase from last year’s forecast is reflective both of Canada’s flexible immigration policy and the fact that our strengthening economy is attractive to immigrants,” she added.

Immigration levels are tabled in the House of Commons annually in the Fall. “Our actual figures for 1996, compared to the forecast for that year, are tangible proof that the government does not follow a quota system in our immigration planning,” Minister Robillard emphasized. The Immigration Plan for 1996 had set 195,000 – 220,000 as the overall range of immigrants and refugees. The actual number of landings exceeded that plan, totalling over 225,000 immigrants and refugees.

“Immigration has always been a source of economic and social strength for Canada. It will continue to be vital to the future of our country. In addition to their hopes and dreams, immigrants bring with them rich human experience, expertise and initiative, as well as a willingness to help us build a stronger Canada, for ourselves and our children,” said Minister Robillard.

Immigration Plan, 1998

Immigrant Category	Range
Skilled Workers	96,600 – 106,600
Business	19,300 – 21,300
Spouses, Fiancé(e)s and Children	35,200 – 38,300
Parents and Grandparents	18,300 – 20,000
Other – Live-in Caregiver Program – Special Categories – Provincial/Territorial Nominees	6,500
Total Immigrant	175,900 – 192,700
Refugee Category	Range
Government-Assisted*	7,300
Privately-Sponsored*	2,800 – 4,000
Refugees Landed In Canada and	12,000 – 18,000
Dependants Abroad	2,000 – 3,000
Total Refugee	24,100 – 32,300
Total Immigrant and Refugee	200,000 – 225,000

*Includes an estimated total of 400 for Humanitarian Designated Class.

Q. As an engineer, do I need a CCPE assessment even if I have obtained a post-graduate degree (Masters level) at a Canadian university?

Answer: CCPE assessment is largely based on undergraduate education, as well as postgraduate studies. As such, where such an education took place outside of Canada, or possibly the USA, it may be necessary to obtain such accreditation.

Q. Can my friend request for a second review of his application without requesting for an official appeal to the court ? If so, how may this be done?

Answer: No, visa offices do not generally allow for review of applications outside of the context of a new submission. An appeal would have to be submitted within 30 days of receipt of the refusal, if adequate grounds were present.

Q. I have heard that one way of getting him here is through an engagement sponsorship in which we would have 90 days to decided to get married if not he would have to return to Cuba. The only concern I have is what if we don’t decide to get married within the 90 days and want to wait another 6 months. Will he have to return to Cuba and if he does would I have to sponsor him again once we do decide to get married?

Answer: An assumption of sponsorship in the fiance(e) category is that the applicant and sponsor will marry within 90 days of landing, and be able to demonstrate such within 180 days of landing. Landing documents are not issued tentatively on the premise of determining if marriage will take place. As such, failure to marry may affect the likelihood of success in subsequent applications.

Q. I´ve been working as software developer in a big corporation for one and a half years. But I do not have much educational background, as I learned everything most of what I know by myself. Will it be completely impossible for me to apply for immigration due to lack of educational references ?

My employers have told me they would supply me with a letter of reference stating that I am a perfectly able professional in my field, would that do any difference ?

Answer: The NOC does specify that “A bachelor’s degree in computer science or in another discipline with a significant programming component, such as mathematics, commerce or business administration or Completion of a college program in computer science is usually required.”

The Department has indicated that “usually” should be interpreted as “always.” Realistically, however, if you can reasonably demonstrate that your skills will make you employable in your intended occupation, there is fair grounds to suggest that you could qualify in such.

Although most of the information contained in such Histories is retrievable from the national police database in the U.K., there is no information on the national database that predates 1981, and there are some localities with stand-alone systems that do not contribute to the national system at all.

Moreover, for reasons of sheer volume, London is no longer able to process requests from individuals that last lived in parts of England other than the capital. Thus, just recently, the Metropolitan Police have taken to informing individuals who write to obtain their Histories that they will have to submit their requests to the appropriate local office, each of which will have its own forms and procedures.

Therefore, instructions sent to all individuals who have resided in the U.K. for at least six months within the past 10 years should direct them to the Subject Access Office of the constabulary responsible for the last locale in the U.K. where they resided.

As early as next January, immigrants applying to Canada will undergo stricter medical tests for infectious diseases, and the tests will be tailored to their country of origin.

Health Canada and Immigration Canada are planning an overhaul of their antiquated testing system, and will apply the two medical clauses in the Immigration Act more aggressively.

The first clause denies entry to any individual “who is, or is likely to be, a danger to public health or to public safety.” The second clause denies immigrant status to anyone who “would cause, or might reasonably be expected to cause, excessive demands on health or social services.”

The act applies to immigrants, refugees, temporary workers and visitors staying longer than six months. Under the present system, they have to pass a medical exam, a blood test for syphilis and a chest X-ray for tuberculosis.

Health Canada is using a new computer model to assess the risk posed by 47 infectious diseases, a process that could take a year.

However, if in the interim the computer study identifies a pressing need to test for a certain disease, “we won’t wait until we have 15 diseases as a package” to impose testing requirements, said Dr. Ron St. John of the Laboratory Centre for Disease Control in Ottawa. “No, we’ll do it right away.”

The new system will be more agile. Screening immigration applicants for a particular disease can literally begin overnight, around the world or in one country or region.

Dr. St. John isn’t yet sure which diseases will be universally tested for, because the new computer model that Health Canada is developing may produce some surprises. The computer model will first assess the need to screen for tuberculosis, hepatitis B, HIV, syphilis and influenza.

Dr. St. John speculated that the computer model will show a need for mandatory, universal tests for tuberculosis and hepatitis B and C.

However, the issue of cost will probably decide whether all immigrants will have to pass an HIV test. Despite the infectious nature of HIV, Dr. St. John says he doesn’t see it as a public-health issue.

“HIV is totally preventable and there’s plenty of HIV already in Canada,” he said. “Given that 98 per cent of the population is quite knowledgeable, if you just met a man or a woman from Ghana, are you going to rush into a sexual relationship?” A person should know the HIV status of any new sexual partner, he added, regardless of their
birthplace.

A person with HIV, however, costs between $110,000 and $178,000 in direct medical care, according to Greg Williams, research associate with the Canadian Policy Research Networks in Ottawa. A recent University of British Columbia study adds an additional $600,000 per person as an indirect cost to society in lost productivity.

The Health Canada computer model will study the need to screen for HIV, but Dr. St. John said it is now being “debated and discussed” in a variety of government departments as a possible exclusionary disease because of the medical costs.

Tuberculosis, not HIV, is right at the top of the list of dangerous infectious diseases because 30 per cent of the world’s population has been infected with it.

Of the roughly 225,000 immigrants who came here in 1996, some 60,000 people with inactive, non-contagious tuberculosis. Of the 2,000 reported cases of active tuberculosis in Canada each year, 57 per cent occur in immigrants, and the number is growing each year. With the disease surging world-wide, experts predict that Canada will have 6,000 new cases of contagious tuberculosis each year in the future.

The mandatory chest X-ray catches perhaps 70 per cent of active cases. These people can be admitted to Canada once they’ve received antibiotic treatment that makes them non-contagious.

However, one in 10 such cases becomes active again when the tuberculosis bacteria overwhelm the weakened immune systems of elderly or people with HIV. In fact, a person with a combination of HIV and inactive tuberculosis has a one-in-12 chance of developing active tuberculosis every year. “Not over a lifetime,” Dr. St. John stressed, “but every year.”

Nevertheless, Health Canada’s computer analysis may show that universal tuberculosis testing isn’t needed. For example, people applying from Norway and from Southeast Asia get chest X-rays, even though Norway has an even lower tuberculosis rate than Canada. (Canada’s overall rate reflects the health of its native population, whose incidence of tuberculosis matches that in some developing nations.)

The disease is endemic in Southeast Asia, which provided roughly 40 per cent of all immigrants last year. And in some parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, as many as 90 per cent of the people have tuberculosis. “In some countries, maybe we should do even more than chest X-rays,” said Dr. St. John. Skin tests and sputum tests give more accurate diagnoses.

As the scientists, headed by Dr. Trong Nguyen, plow through the disease list, they will also assess Chagas’ disease, a blood parasite that lives unnoticed for years, only to suddenly attack the heart, sometimes fatally. It might be a prime target for regional testing since it is prevalent in Central and South America. In some countries such as El Salvador, two per cent of blood donors have Chagas.

Chagas’ disease has made its way into the Canadian blood supply: A Manitoba woman died in 1986 after receiving blood contaminated with the parasite. Although there is no known treatment, an immigrant who tests positive and is admitted to Canada could be advised against donating blood or sharing needles.

The medical screening project is the brainchild of Dr. Brian Gushulak, Canada’s former director of quarantine health services. Dr. Gushulak is serving a term as medical director for the International Organization on Migration in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Canadian scientists are working parallel to a team of U.S. scientists from the American Centres for Disease Control. Each team is testing a different computer model. They’ll meet in Atlanta in December and compare notes.

Apparently the scientists compare more than computer models. The U.S. Centres for Disease Control “would much rather have our law than theirs,” said Dr. St. John. To add or subtract a disease for screening in the U.S. — the Americans still test for leprosy, along with tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV — is a cumbersome legislative process.

Three federal departments — Health, Citizenship and Immigration and Foreign Affairs — will apply the computer model’s results in pilot studies overseas. If they’re successful, “probably a year from now we may have all the changes world-wide.”

If the computer model holds up, Canada will share it internationally. It could add crucial speed and flexibility to the arsenal against the onslaught of infectious diseases.

Health Canada is also proposing changes to its Quarantine Act to allow health officials to hold a potentially infectious person as long as necessary.

A sensational case involving a would-be refugee who stepped off a plane in Toronto’s Pearson International Airport during the l995 Ebola outbreak in Zaire prompted the amendment.

The man, arriving from Britain, was “one of those persons who ate their papers and claimed to be a refugee,” said Dr. St. John. “He decided it would help his case, since he was from Zaire originally, to say he had just come from the site of the Ebola outbreak there, where he had helped to bury his dead mother.”

That story sent Health Canada into a scramble for its long-buried quarantine form, last used 40 years earlier. When health officials realized that the law allowed only 14 days of detention, they rushed to the courts to beg for extra time. Ebola has an incubation period of three weeks. “Fortunately, we had a sympathetic judge.”

Meanwhile, back at the airport, the man was being held in the VIP lounge. Police eventually discovered that he actually lived in London, not Zaire.

With the man’s identify unmasked and his Ebola story discredited, the officials decided to change the law and are now planning formal procedures for detaining and isolating potentially contagious individuals. That includes finding an alternative to using VIP lounges in public health crises.