Beyond Numbers

In 1982, Neil Cochrane had a young family and needed steady work. The federal government was an attractive employer in his hometown of Ottawa. But memories of a tedious summer pushing paper at the Department of Justice left him fretting that the price for a secure public service job could be a life of drudgery. When he landed a front-line immigration officer position, he needn't have worried about the doldrums. In Canada and at diplomatic missions in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines, he bore witness to the determined struggles of people hoping for a new life in a new land. Ultimately, he was invited to join the team re-writing Canada's immigration laws in the offices of the same Department of Justice where he once toiled as a summer student. Then, after nearly a quarter-century, as a Director in the Department's Admissibility Branch, he walked away from his career with Canada Immigration. In Beyond Numbers, the former public servant takes readers on a rare insider's tour of Canada's immigration service. This unique ride-along pays homage to a time when face-to-face, personal service was the mainstay of Canada's immigration operations. The forthright and entertaining storytelling culminates in heartfelt reflections on the weighty powers of immigration officials, the troubling transformation of Canada's immigration services, and his surprising decision to leave a career he once loved.