Two cases of alleged marriage frauds formthe basis for a letter from
a Canadian politi-cian to Immigration Minister Monte Solberg,
suggesting that all marriages between a Canadian and a foreigner
should be subject to a certain period of probation.
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Liberal Member of
Parliament Roy Cullen further suggests that only after the lapse
of the probation period, and if the couple continues in a
marital relationship, should permanent visas be given to the
spouse. |
Cullen told India
Abroad many Indo-
Canadians "in my riding have expressed
concerns over the abuse that is taking
place."
There are 12,500 Indo-Canadians in Cullen's riding of Etobicoke
North (Ontario), and about 29,000 South Asians out of a total
population of 117,000. "I closely inter-act with a number of very
respectable Indo-Canadians, and they are telling me it is becoming
like an epidemic and it is being seriously abused," Cullen said. "
And so they have suggested that the Immigration Act be amended to
issue spousal visa on probation of say 3-5 years, and if they are
still married at the cut off date, then they can get a permanent
visa."
Cullen said the Indo-Canadians in his riding have even suggested
that if the marriage has broken up within that time frame, "the
spouse should be deported to his/her homeland, but I don't support
that because first of al, if you are in an abusive relationship,
even if it is not a physically abusive relationship, why must a man
or a woman remain in such a relationship?
"I have, therefore, suggested that if, say
after 3 years, they are still living together,
there would be an opportunity for hus-
band/wife to come before a specially constituted panel set up by the
Citizenship Immigration Canada or Immigration Refugee Board where
they would hear cases of spousal abuse. The panel could make a
judgement, report to the police or whatever, and say where there's a
genuine attempt to make the marriage work andthen make a
determination." Cullen said he has personally spoken with
Immigration Minister Solberg about the
abuses.
The Globe and Mail in its July 29 issue
front-paged a story detailing two cases,
both from Gujarat, of such alleged mar-
riages of convenience. One case reportedly involves Indo-Canadian
Mehul Parikh, 27, a factory worker in Toronto, with Pinal Shah, 21,
from Baroda, which was arranged through an agency in July, 2002.
The other involves a marriage between
Bhavita Shah, an Indo-Canadian with Sub Shah, a textile engineer
from Baroda; the couple has one son, born last year. In court
documents, Parikh alleges he is a victim of marriage fraud. He
reportedly says that when he met his wife for the first time in
Baroda, he noticed right away that she walked with a pronounced
limp, and that she is now on a waiting list for hip replacement
surgery. |
Parikh in his court filing claims he found
papers in his wife's files from the Baroda
Homeopathic Medical Hospital, which said she has a disease called
avascular necrosis in her leg, for which she had been taking
homeopathic medicine. This disease causes bone tissue to die, and
bones to collapse.
The couple has separated; both of them
have filed their versions in court, with
Parikh claiming he was a victim of fraud
and now he is financially ruined and can-
not work, as he is on anti-depressant
medication.
Another story concerns Bhavita Shah, a
constituent of Roy Cullen. Shah told India Abroad In she has asked
the court to deport Sub Shah to India as "it was a marriage of
convenience, which I couldn't understand when we got married in
India in January 2004."
She was unwilling go into details about
her filing in court. She said however that
they had a baby last year, which she took to Gujarat.
She says her husband told her to go ahead and he would join her
later, but
"instead of coming to India, he removed all stuff from the
apartment, took out all the money from the bank, because I jrusted
him and we had a joint bank account and disappeared and filed for a
divorce," she alleges, adding that the grounds being cited for
divorce is mental crue)ty . She says that on "the day we got
married, the marriage registry office was closed and so he took my
signatures on the form -but I later discovered he never registered
our marriage. The office has given me in writing that they can't
find any such marriage that has been registered with them."
She alleged that her husband wanted her to abort their child, and
subjected her to "all kinds of pressure, but I didn't agree with him
because of which he was not very happy."
The court has given Sub Shah the right to
see and feed his baby once in two weeks; for two hours at a time.
"He has otherwise restraining orders not to come closer to me or the
baby," Bhavita claimed.
Senior immigration lawyer Mendel Green
agrees cases of marriage of convenience are multiplying, and most of
those cases
involve South Asians. "I am dealing with
hundreds of South Asians now. I see an
increase in the fraud in family class."
MP Cullen said frauds exist within other
communities as well, but in his riding he
has, only been hearing of such cases from amongst Indo-Canadians.
Marina Wilson, a spokeswoman of the
immigration department, is quoted in a
Canadian national daily as suggesting
Canadians must take responsibility when
marrying abroad, to ensure their spouses'
intentions are sincere. 'There are always
people who try to outsmart the system.'
Under the existing rules, foreign spouses
get permanent residency as soon as they
land in Canada.
The report says about 15 per cent of the 60,000 Canadians who marry
overseas and file international spousal sponsorships have their
applications rejected. In the case of India, the rejection rate is
stated to be as high as 23 per cent
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