generalspeaking

No Strings Attached to Qualify : Free For All!

"Many of these individuals through no fault of their own are unable to have their SINs and/or work permits renewed during this health emergency."
"At the same time many have lost their jobs or have experienced significant reduction in hours of work."
"Many were or are vulnerable to evictions."
Debbie Douglas, executive director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants

"It's truly astonishing. the person could potentially be overseas if the payment is going to a Canadian bank account. That is extremely troubling."
"That money is not free. That money is going to have to come out of someone's pocket at some point."
"It is going to be the taxpayers of Canada, citizens or not."
Sergio Karas, immigration lawyer, Toronto

New steps have been announced by the federal government for the purpose of easing application processes for international students and temporary foreign residents in Canada so they may receive emergency benefits; financial payments received on a monthly basis, deposited directly to bank accounts, ostensibly for the purpose of tiding people over during the novel coronavirus pandemic which has caused such an upheaval of business closures and lost employment.

Henceforth, declared the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, short-term immigrants need expend their energies no further than to give verbal assurances that they are in possession of a valid work permit or have applied for a renewed permit to enable them to qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). This, according to yet another memorandum forwarded to staff employed in vetting claims.

The requirement had been for applicants to email Employment and Social Development Canada an image of a valid work or work/study permit or a confirmation that they had applied for a renewal of their expired permit. The new memo, however, received by officials handling CERB applications informs that those conditions have been waived "effective immediately". So that agents "are only required to verbally obtain work permit details." An honour system on steroids.

Anyone holding a "900-series" social insurance number which includes people ranging from students to refugee claimants, to temporary foreign workers and executives from other countries transferred to work in Canada is included. None of whom are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.

People with valid permits would typically email proof within a few minutes, hardly impacting to slow the process, according to a source familiar with the system. Now, however, staff is left unable to verify whether someone making application is in fact legally in the country. Moreover, should an applicant leave the country after successfully applying and receiving the $2,000-monthly payment, recovery of the funds would be impossible.

"There is a big, big opening for fraud, left right and centre", stated the inside source. One immigrant advocate considered this new ruling to be "excellent" policy to aid temporary residents in need, while an immigration lawyer appears to think otherwise, characterizing the situation as indicating an "astonishing" disregard for taxpayer funds. The program provides $500 weekly to people who "have stopped working" due to COVID-19's impact on the economy.

These announcements made in favour of speeding up the process of applying for the benefit and seeing the funds moving out of official coffers and into people's personal bank accounts, has come under increasing public scrutiny, highlighted by news stories about the fund's management. A regular conveyance of loosening restrictions and informing those approving applicants that no suspicions will be honoured; that applications are to be expedited.

Overlooking people voluntarily choosing to leave jobs, or being fired for misconduct, despite contradicting the CERB rules. A Toronto immigration lawyer has helpfully pointed out that the new, unquestioning policy leads to situations where even an individual who is facing a deportation order, or one who had already left the country could now make successful application for the CERB payments.

Confusingly, the memo makes note that eligibility for benefits means a temporary resident "must prove they are legally allowed to work in Canada". However, due to COVID-19 the 900-series SIN procedures have been 'simplified'; proof no longer required.Thus far, $39 billion has been paid out by this government to over eight million claimants up to a week ago.