Immigration goalpost shift

Imagine you lived in a far-away country and chose to apply to immigrate to our great white chilly north. You pay all your dues, fill out your forms and wait for the good news. That’s what 700,000 hopeful Canuck wannabes did from points abroad over the last five years, only to find that the Canadian government has just moved the goalposts.

Under the new Canadian immigration point system, these applicants will be judged under rules that didn’t exist when they filled out their forms. And under the new rules, the would-be maple-flag-saluters will almost surely be denied entry, according to local immigration lawyer Mitchell Brownstein.

"This is obviously a way to clear up the immigration backlog," says Brownstein. He says that had the candidates been granted an interview within a reasonable timeframe, most of them would be toting Canadian passports by now.

"Immigration Canada accepted the money and processing fees from the applicants under laws that existed. It’s unfair to make them wait three to five years and then change the law," he says. "These people have legitimate expectations to receive a reasonable delay."

The 15-year vet of the immigration scene has tossed down the see-you-in-court gauntlet to the government with action on behalf of 125 of his clients - mostly from Asia - to force the government to judge their applications under the old rules. Brownstein expects a favourable decision from a Federal Court judge on behalf of the immigrants "within a couple of weeks." : » Kristian Gravenor

Lefties want $10-billion

Despite Premier Landry’s waffling on whether an election will be held in April or not, the local lefties at the Union des forces progressistes (UFP) are getting ready to enter the fray. Last weekend the fledgling party, less than a year old, held its second congress and outlined their program for the next provincial election. Along with a firm anti-war, sovereigntist, pro-ecological stance, and alongside calls for proportional representation, they also called for a levy of some $10-billion on multinational corporations to make up for the cuts to health and social services accrued over the last decade.

"The point we want to make is, if [multinationals] and oil corporations pay their taxes and the public no longer gives them their tax breaks - they’re already making billions in profit each year - then we can pay for everything we’ve lost since 1992," says Christian Montmarquette, a communications agent for the party.

He also says the party hopes to field candidates across the province, except in ridings where the local Green party members are well-organized. "We have a non-aggression pact with them," Montmarquette says. "We have a lot of points in common, and we want to invite in everyone who is progressive."

In another development of note, old-school leftie Paul Cliche will be turning his old riding, Mercier, over to Amir Khadir, a local physician known for his strong anti-war views. Cliche will be concentrating on other projects, says Montmarquette. : » Patrick Lejtenyi

UQÀM’s secret vote riles students

Students at UQÀM will be voting over the next month and a half on a resolution to unite six student associations into one body - not that they know about it. According to 24-year-old Jean Prud’homme, the president of the university’s faculty of political science and law student association, the referendum is a complete surprise to most students, and is being carried out in such an underhanded way as to virtually guarantee the passing of the motion. In response, the students wrote to the Minister of Education on Monday, Feb. 3, asking the ministry to intervene in the process and investigate suspected collusion on the part of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ) and ministry bureaucrats.

"It’s a flagrant lack of respect for students," Prud’homme says of the way the referendum, which began yesterday, Feb. 5 and continues until March 15, was sprung onto them. "The information hasn’t been circulated, and all that we’ve received is a little propaganda booklet, and it’s filled with disinformation."

He points out, however, that he isn’t opposed to what is being proposed in the referendum per se, which includes a new collective insurance plan to cover all of the university’s students. "Some of the proposals could be interesting," he says, "but any new student association shouldn’t be a reflection of the FEUQ. It should be a reflection of the students at UQÀM."

By press time, Prud’homme was still waiting to hear back from the Ministry of Education. : » Patrick Lejtenyi

Angel >> A murder-free January, barely Last month only just made it into the books as the first island-wide, homicide-free January since 1966 (there were four murders by the end of January 2002). But perhaps criminals were sensing something was amiss, because on Sunday, Feb. 2, Denis Poirier, a 38-year-old convicted cocaine dealer, was gunned down in an alley near Atwater and Workman while taking a piss after eating hot dogs with his girlfriend in a nearby restaurant. Police say it seems the year’s first homicide had all the markings of a settling of gangland accounts, and by press time, the investigation was ongoing.
Insect >> Canadian oil companies setting record profits off war fears War and turmoil seem to be good for at least some businesses after all. The four big Canadian oil companies, Shell Canada, Petro-Canada, Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy, have all posted record year-end profits, thanks in large parts to the threat of war in Iraq and Venezuela’s country-wide strikes. The last quarter of the year was especially fruitful, when the price of oil topped $30 a barrel. During that three-month period, the four announced that collectively, they’d made $1.3-billion, almost triple the previous year’s $456-million. Analysts doubt 2003 will be as good, but you never know.