Basically, the typical way that this could happen is if, for whatever reason, they don't list, for example, a child on their application form, regardless of the kind of immigration stream or category that the person is coming under. It could be for some of the reasons that I spoke about earlier. Then, years later, or some time passes, and they're eligible to become a sponsor, and they want to bring that child over.
The regulation 117(9)(d) applies automatically. If you try to sponsor that person, immigration officials will go back and look at the immigration forms. They will look at the file to see if immigration officials examined that person, the child. If they weren't examined, if they weren't disclosed, then the provision applies automatically.
It prevents you from bringing that family member forever. There's no recourse other than maybe putting in an H and C application, but, as I've said, it is an uneven remedy. Not everybody gets relief through that, and it's expensive. It leads to lengthy delays. It's expensive for the immigration system, for the government.
There isn't a reason to allow such a strict application of this rule. If you're concerned about fraud, there are other mechanisms in the immigration system that deal with this already. There are processes by which to examine whether or not fraud has occurred in this case.
In a lot of cases, we're talking about genuine family members. These are not people who are not bona fide family members of the sponsors. I think this regulation shouldn't exist. It is overbroad and applies harshly to people who are already contributing members of our society.