hi
i have bad news
On August 1, 2013 new immigration regulations came into effect, which significantly changed the selection criteria under the Quebec Skilled Worker program. Not only did the changes apply to applications submitted after August 1st but also to be the vast majority of files submitted prior to that date. Tens of thousands of applicants will be affected. Many of them have waited patiently in line for a number of years and many of them will no longer qualify. To make matters worse, most of them will not be refunded their Quebec government processing fees.
Late last month, Attorney David Cohen and Mathieu Bouchard, acting as co-counsel, initiated two separate legal proceedings against the Quebec government and the Minister responsible for Immigration.
In the first legal proceeding the lawyers are asking the Quebec Superior Court to declare the new regulations null because they contend that the government did never give itself the power to enact retroactive regulations in immigration matters.
In the second legal proceeding the lawyers are asking the Quebec Superior Court for Certification as a Class Action for the purpose of seeking reimbursement of government processing fees in the event that the first legal proceedings is not successful.
The Quebec government is following in the footsteps of the Federal government, which last year retroactively terminated the applications of some 280,000 individuals, who had applied for permanent residency under the Federal Skilled Worker program. That issue is currently before the Federal Court of Appeal and is expected to be argued before next summer.
we are all deed :-\
