Meeting with my MP. Mr. Stephen Woodworth

All in all, it was a good meeting; my MP didn’t try to antagonize my reasons; after listening to my arguments –I even had a list of cases to prove that what is happening at the Canadian Embassy in Havana is absolutely arbitrary-. People who failed to prove that they had any properties/assets, employed with an average salary, with relatives in Canada, some with more than one and with no travel history got a visa or have a multiple-entry visa; just like some others who met all the ‘requirements’ who ended up staying in Canada. The MP was aware –and he himself  provided examples- of arbitrary decisions by Canadian immigration officials in India and Russia; he mentioned talented Russian mathematicians with an extensive travel history who were equally denied entry to Canada even when they were coming for a scientific exchange  He is absolutely aware of the fact that the system doesn’t work and that the government is not about to establish an appeal process for all the visas that are denied; he added that 35 000 people make political refugee claims as soon as they arrive in Canadian soil every year which is a burden to the taxpayers. I agreed that a large number of political refugee claimants just take advantage of the system as I know some people who have successfully done it but the number in itself is the biggest evidence of the system failure. Mr. Woodworth understands that there is no way to tell who will make a refugee claim or who won’t which has been a factor in the toughening of the immigration rules with the disastrous results we know.

Good to know we were on the same page but… what does all that mean for my sister? It means that my sister will have to reapply for a visa (Same expenses again) which won’t be possible until next summer. He suggested that we put together parallel documentation which he will take to the Minister’s office prior to her applying just to see what they say and just to have some ammunition in case the embassy tries to lie again as they did this time around when they said that my sister ‘failed to provide proof of income’ and that she had ‘limited employment prospects’.

We agreed I’d provide the bulk of such parallel documentation to him by the 2^nd week of September. We’ll see where this takes us but…failing this, what? He said he would have to make a case directly with the Minister’s office but warned that the present Minister of Immigration is more about going through the channels than about backing down to an MP’s request. He suggested that would be the time to apply pressure on the government ‘in large numbers’. I mentioned the online petition and he said there was nothing wrong with that but that ‘maybe’ I was ahead of myself.

I believe Mr. Woodworth understood that I am not about to give up. I was glad he is aware of the fact –that doesn’t need to be proven- that the system simply doesn’t work; of course, this doesn’t help my sister which is the scary part as nobody seems to be interested in revamping it. It is a pity that a country like Canada has such an inefficient bureaucracy that causes so much pain and disillusion to new Canadians.

Response from Mrs. Wayne Easter's (MP) office.

Good afternoon Lucia,

After speaking with our local representative  at Citizenship and Immigration it appears as though they are unable provide any information or guidance on your case as they do not disclose such details when Mr. Easter is not your local representative. 

I would suggest you contact your local MP again or contact the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Minister Jason Kenney.  He can be reached at Minister@cic.gc.ca.

I wish you all the best.

Kind regards,

Krystal Rice

Constituency Assistant

Office of the Hon. Wayne Easter

P.O. Box 70

Hunter River, PE C0A 1N0

Tel: 902-964-2428/ Fax: 902-964-3242

Email: Eastew1@parl.gc.ca

The interview with Stephen Woodworth's will be on July 20.

I got an phone call from Stephen Woodworth's office yesterday. I will have an interview with him on July 20th at 11am.