Your points are totally legitimate ones but I just want to point out what we all probably know already - no system is perfect, every new change in policy is really just a tradeoff.
Yes, this changes the power balance, but judging by the U.S. example, not as much as you might expect. To go from CR to PR on your green card in the U.S., you typically need both parties to sign off on the petition to remove conditions on residence, BUT if the CR has been battered or abused by his U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, or if the couple gets divorced, the alien may apply to remove the conditions on his permanent residency at any time after he becomes a conditional resident, but before he is removed from the U.S. Also, if the marriage is "not viable" (the couple is separated or not living together), USCIS says that "the petition to remove the conditions of residence shall not be denied provided that the conditional resident can show that the marriage was entered into in good faith and with a genuine desire for a marital relationship, and not solely for immigration purposes." I have no idea how this works in practice and you might tell me that it's a whole 'nother story when it comes to enforcing, I don't know, but the point is, the provision is there at least.
And then let's not forget that the exception to the 2 year rule in the U.S. is if the U.S. citizen is legally sponsoring a spouse in which the marriage at the time of the adjustment of status is more than two years old. So if someone can help it, and frequently they can, let them just apply for PR when they have been married for more than 2 years as a solution to this. The plus side is that people will very often know their spouse much better when they have been with them for 2 years or more than if they are newlyweds. Again, certainly no sure way to avoid an emotionally or physically abusive situation but I think it definetely helps.
AmericaninQuebec said:
It's also extremely controversial, because it completely screws up the power balance. The sponsored spouses (usually women) are left unable to leave the home to even go to a shelter if abused or if the marriage has broken down, because the sponsoring spouse can report them as having abandoned the relationship and therefore their PR status is placed in serious jeopardy. This is no small thing what Canada is proposing to do, and I for one am very much against it. This leaves the sponsoring spouse with an unhealthy amount of power over the sponsored spouse, even if there is no other abuse in the relationship.
What happens if the sponsoring spouse decides he/she wants out of the relationship during the first two years? Then the sponsored spouse is deported? That means the sponsoring spouse could very easily and effectively control and manipulate the sponsored spouse for the first two years upon arrival to Canada. "Oh you want to do what? Sorry, you do that and I report that the marriage is over." "You don't get to keep that money you earned, because if you do I'll report that the marriage is over and then you won't be earning anymore money here at all." See how quickly this could turn sour?
I know someone will likely respond that the sponsored spouse should go home then, but why should they be forced to restart their lives again because of the abuse of their spouse or simply because the sponsoring spouse wants out of the relationship for any reason? Seems completely heartless.
