Here is what I just sent to DoJ
Dear Counsel,
I do not yet have time to deal with the interrogatories but I would like to give you a heads-up 'cause these niggardly times lines are as hard on you as they are on me. From your perspective, however, it's all for the better 'cause Justice Barnes has seriously crippled our ability to put together a strong offence.
I expect that I will send you the same set of interrogatories. The only additional questions I have in mind at this point are:
1. For either the last twelve months, ending June 30th; or for 2011, whichever is easier for you, please provide
a. the number of FSW files finalized in New Delhi, Beijing, Hong Kong and Manila and
b. the dates the finalized files were lodged.
2. The perception for the Chinese litigants is that Beijing is sending out medical forms and up-dates for pre-Bill C-50 applicants, whose files had been assessed before 29 March 2012, in no order whatsoever; which is to say, newer applicants are receiving these request whereas some earlier applicants are not. Excluding files under a court order to be processed, please provide the formula (if any) Beijing is using for processing this cohort of applications.
3. If Beijing, Hong Kong, Manila, New Delhi, Ankara, London and Warsaw reached their FSW target in 2011, please give the date of having done so; or, if not, the target and number of FSW visas issued up to the date of the answer (or an earlier date if easier to provide).
4. On March 7th, Minster Kenney gave an address in which he mused that he liked the New Zealand approach to clearing backlogs: legislate them into oblivion. In view of his March 29th announced that he was doing so I presume that the March 7th comment was not an off-the-cuff remark but more accurately falls into the trial balloon category. Therefore, please provide the following information:
a. the date CIC staff began envisioning A87.4,
b. the dates and participants at meetings (formal or informal) to discuss the A87.4 option
i. names and
ii. positions held.
c. date decision was made to legislate s. 87.4 into existence and
d. names and titles of those who proposed/made that decision.
5. On November 2nd, the Minister said:
"As of today, the skilled worker backlog stands at about 100,000 people. [...]
* * *
"[...] I’m pleased to announce that the Federal Skilled Worker Program will continue to be our flagship immigration program.
"It remains the single largest avenue for permanent immigration to Canada and, as such, next year we plan to welcome between 53,500 to 55,300 federal skilled workers, which includes their spouses and dependents. Combined with previous actions taken to manage the backlog, this means that by the end of next year we will be able to process new applications as they are received and aim to process them in less than a year [...]
"Practically, what does this boil down to? It means that when the applicants for the skilled worker program next year make their applications, we will be getting to their applications, making a decision and admitting them in a few months, certainly less than a year. […]
"We’ll also be creating a new skilled trades stream, which will have a lower benchmark for language proficiency. [...] "
(a) Please give a breakdown of the 100,000 inventory by category; i.e., pre-Bill C-50, MI 1, MI 2, etc.
(b) How does the Department intend to allocate the FSW quota between the various classes, including the "new skilled trades stream" -- either globally or specifically for at the visa posts involved in this litigationl viz., London, Vienna, Warsaw, Accra, Nairobi, Pretoria, Damascus, New Delhi, Colombo, Singapore, Manila, Seoul, Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney, Bogotá, Kingston and Port of Spain?
(c) Please explain how the Department expects to process applications received in 2012 "in a few months, certainly less than a year" when the current inventory stands at 100,000 and the 2013 FSW quota has been set at 53,500 to 55,300?
6. The Minister has been quoted as stating that there will be no MI 1 inventory by the end of 2013. Please explain how CIC envisions accomplishing that task.
Regards,
Tim