I think everyone is missing an important point. Yes, scams happen with marriage fraud to Canadian citizens and PR's. But the real questions are: How do you prove it? And if you, as the Canadian in this equation, feel that you've been duped, should your estranged spouse be allowed to stay in Canada as a PR?
CIC does NOT want to get into your bedroom, in the middle of a "he said/she said" thing (or a "he/he" and "she/she" in the case of our same-sex couples). As PMM has said many times, CIC is not your mother. So how do you prove fraud?
Secondly, if a marriage breaks down because of things other than genuineness let's say 6 months or a year after landing in Canada, where does that put the new PR? Should they be sent back to their country of origin because of a break down in the marriage that has nothing to do with fraud?
I think what the couples are saying in this story is that the new PR's should NOT be able to retain the benefit of being a PR of Canada. I'm pretty sure that most of them are embarrassed, humiliated and devastated by what's happened to them if they were in fact the victims of marriage fraud. Wouldn't you feel stupid? I know I would. So let's say that it's a given that they are feeling pretty dumb. No point in beating them up further. But what is the responsibility of the government now? Let's say that for these cases, the Canadians WERE the victim of fraud. The Act and Regulations say that marriage fraud is illegal and a person committing such an act can lose their PR. BUT IT IS NOT ENFORCED. Should the government put more of a priority on investigating fraud in marriages? Once again, they don't want to get into your bedroom.
Some are arguing (in the article) that there should be conditions put on the visa obtained when sponsoring spouses, like in Australia and the UK. What Mr. Kischer is pointing out is that this could and would create a class of people who could be threatened to "behave or be deported". Do you think that every sponsored spouse that comes to Canada is well versed in Canadian law and their rights? Think again. So it's a catch-22. It is the obligation of the Canadian government to protect her citizens and permanent residents. But Canada takes it a step further and protects the HUMAN RIGHTS of all people within our borders with The Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Some of the Rights only apply to Citizens but some, including the right to life, liberty and security of person apply to EVERYONE physically present in Canada. I can guarantee you that there are people, right NOW, who were sponsored as spouses to come to Canada, living in physically and mentally abusive relationships and being threatened with deportation if they don't "tow the line". These people are victims and they don't know any better.
I appreciate joe's outline of how a Canadian should judge their spouse if they are from another country while I DO NOT agree with calling anyone stupid. Yes, we should all have our eyes wide open when going into marriage no matter who we marry. But what do you say in the case of arranged marriages where the couple may have only met on their wedding day? For some cultures, this is an ancient and accepted tradition. While it might seem foreign to me, I'm in no position to judge because it's not my culture. Should we outlaw these because they don't meet the criteria?
I guess what I'm saying here is that there is NO SIMPLE answer to this. YES, marriage is the "easiest" way to get into Canada (although it didn't feel easy when I brought my husband) but what they mean is the sponsored spouse/partner does NOT have to be educated, speak the language, have skilled work experience, be as healthy as economic applicants, or have settlement funds. Therefore, it's definitely "easier".
I really doubt that Canada is going to change the law to make the PR visa have "conditions". What I think they are going to do is make it that much more difficult to prove genuiness at the outset, in the application phase. That's just my opinion and I hope I'm wrong because it would make a process that already feels ENDLESS to those involved, that much longer and more difficult.
