Two cases of alleged marriage frauds form
the 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.

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 con-
stituted 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 and
then 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 caus-
es 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 mar-
riage 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.