LATEST MAIL FROM TIM
Dear Litigant,
One of you has asked me if I am willing to commence litigation along the lines that I mentioned before; viz., for those who have been paper-screened. I asked another lawyer if she would work with me in doing so because I do not want to file the cases under my name in order to avoid Justice Barnes halting the new litigation, too. I will, however, prepare the written submissions. Each case will have to proceed independently because the ruling will depend on who did the paper-screening. The fee would be $750 USD initially and, if successful, another $750.
In most cases, the person who did the paper-screening is not an officer. However, if s/he is an officer, s. 87.4(1) does not apply and the file will have to be processed. The first step would be having the CAIPS notes showing that paper-screening occurred. If so, we will assert that the person doing so is an officer; CIC will have to prove that the person is not an officer. If they cannot, the Court should order CIC to process the file.
I do not want to proceed initially with cases filed in Delhi because the visa post has so much volume I would expect it to have a cadre of clerks doing the paper-screening. If we get too many rejections initially, the Court will not take the other cases seriously. Therefore, I want to begin with the smaller visa posts where (a) officers may do both tasks and (b) promotion is possible. In my mind, it would not matter if the person who did the paper-screening was a clerk when s/he did so if, by 29 June 2012, s/he was an officer.
I will also be arguing that, even if the paper-screener was not an officer, as s/he was performing an officer's task, CIC must accept responsibility for having assigned an officer's task. So, we will have two arguments.
I am not particular optimistic that this litigation will succeed. However, I have always believed that the more people who speak up, the more likely a political solution will ensue. Now that we have a new minister, one who has not invested himself in the process, we might find a less hostile reception. But, it is a "shot in the dark". If you are willing to invest your money into the project, I will do my best to make it work.
Because written arguments will have to be prepared, served and filed for each case, another lawyer must be paid and a new $50 filing fee will be due, I will not be reducing the fee. It's your call.
Regards,
Tim
My question is that should we participate in this case ans is there change to win the same?