Proposed amendments in Canada’s immigration laws: Commons approve Bill C-50, reject NDP amendments; final vote time approaching

Controversial amendments to Canada’s immigration laws that were proposed with Budget 2008-09 Implementation Bill, or Bill C-50, are going to become part of law in just few days!

After completing its clause-by-clause study of Bill C-50, Finance Committee has returned it to House of Commons for a trust vote, where it has been approved by a vote of 114:83 on Monday night. Because the controversial immigration amendments were embedded in Bill C-50, these have also been approved.

The Conservative led government has also survived two other trust votes on these controversial proposals moved by the New Democratic Party (NDP) to amend the bill.

However, the Bill C-50, including the controversial immigration amendments, would not become law until it survives a final vote in the House of Commons, and then adopted by the Senate.

The House of Common will sit till June 6 for this purpose, but the government could extend the sitting time to June 20.

Once passed, the new measures will apply to applications received on or after February 27, 2008. Those who applied prior to February 27, 2008, will not be subject to the new measures and will be dealt with fairly under the existing rules.

Meanwhile, a country-wide poll conducted by Nanos Research for Policy Options magazine suggests majority of Canadians think the government's immigration policy should focus on pumping up the national workforce and reuniting families.

The poll, which was conducted in an anticipation of proposed Conservative bill, suggests 84.9 per cent of Canadians thought it is important to select immigrants whose skills meet the needs of Canada's starved workforce, and about 81.1 per cent thought family reunification is just as important. A total of 72.6 per cent of Canadians feel immigration is “important” or “somewhat important” for the future of the country.