Message from Sol

Did you ever make a decision that was life altering such as who you married, where and what you studied or career choice?

In 1967 I made a choice. I didn’t realize at the time how much it would impact my life. 52 years later, I think back on this decision. I have NO REGRETS.

I had 2 job offers after graduating from the University of Calgary in 1967. Both were appealing at the time and it was a tough choice. I decided to turn down an offer from Tenneco Oil and accept an offer from the federal government's immigration department.

I started in Calgary as an Immigration Officer, served as a Special Inquiry Officer and in 1973 became an Appeals Officer in Toronto. Since then I held many positions, including Manager in both Toronto and Calgary, Director of Programs in Ontario, Manager of Immigration Adjudication and a number of other management assignments in Toronto and Ottawa.

To make a long story short, I retired from the immigration department in 1997 after 30 years and started Solutions Immigration Consulting. I grew the company and now, 22 years later, I am still representing immigration clients. 

I could never have imagined how rewarding it would be to supervise and train so many staff members, to manage the largest immigration centre in Canada, and to serve so many thousands of clients with the immigration department and in my own business. 

Every time a client I represent succeeds with an immigration application, sponsorship or appeal, their life and the lives of their family are impacted. So the decision I made in 1967, 52 years ago at age 22, not only had an impact on me and my family personally, but also touched the lives of thousands of clients. Looking back, I HAVE NO REGRETS with my career choice in 1967.

In future articles I hope to share with everyone the impact of legislative changes, programs, policies, and attitudes over the last 52 years. 

Caregiver Pathway Pilot Programs

On April 7th, Cari Gombinsky, President of Solutions Immigration Consulting, spoke at a Seminar in North York, Ontario relating to the federal government's new Caregiver Pathway programs. 

Cari discussed the phasing out of the existing caregiver programs, as well as the Interim Pathway for Caregivers (expires June 4, 2019) and new pilot programs which will be introduced in June 2019.

Highlights of the new programs include:

- allows caregivers to come to Canada together with their family

- provides a pathway to permanent residence

- gives greater flexibility to change jobs once in Canada

Please call the office to schedule a consultation if you would like to learn more about these exciting programs. And keep an eye out in our newsletter for announcements of future Seminars!

Bill C-97

Within the Federal Budget’s 367 page implementation bill (Bill C-97) were provisions that related to Canadian Immigration. 

These include:

- Creation of a new oversight body for licensing immigration and citizenship consultants. The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants will replace the ICCRC (Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council). 

-Allocation of $1.18 billion over five years intended to strengthen border security and speed up the processing of asylum claims. Additional funds will also be allocated to IRCC call centres to improve the handling of calls.

- Refugee claims will no longer be allowed for those who have made a prior asylum claim in Britain, Australia, New Zealand or the United States,  even if the claim has not yet been decided in those countries. These claimants will no longer have a refugee hearing at the IRB, and will only have a Pre Removal Risk Assessment and Federal Court Appeal available to them to remain in Canada legally.

The changes in the refugee system will no doubt create new challenges, and we are here to help our clients with the new procedures.

Provincial Nomination Program

In addition to numerous federal immigration programs, there are approximately 80 provincial streams available for potential new Canadian immigrants.

The Provincial Nominee Program allows provinces and territories to nominate foreign nationals for permanent residency in Canada.  Section 8 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act gives the Provinces or territories the ability to set their own selection criteria and guidelines.

The provinces or territories can establish their own streams for groups such as students, business people, skilled workers, and semi-skilled workers who: 

- have the skills, education and work experience to contribute to the economy of a specific province or territory;

- want to live in that province; and

- want to become permanent residents of Canada.

If you would like to learn more about options within the Provincial Nominee Program, please call the office to book a consultation.