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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY January 16 - 31, 2019
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Federal Liberal government criticized for online
family reunification system
On January 28, it took less
than 11 minutes for people to
snap up 27,000 online application
spots for bringing parents or
grandparents into Canada.
On that day, Immigration,
Refugees and Citizenship Canada
opened up to applicants its online
form for indicating interest in
sponsoring a family member
through the 2019 Parent and
Grandparent Program.
The annual limit was reached
just more than 10 minutes later,
and the government will not accept
more applications.
The situation was met by a
flood of angry complaints from
frustrated would-be applicants,
many of whom said they had
cleared their schedules and set
up their computers to fill out the
online form, according to a CBC
report.
CBC reported that some
called for an independent audit of
IRCC’s sponsorship process.
IRCC moved to an online
first-come, first-served system for
the 2019 parent and grandparent
sponsorship program.
The Liberal government
scrapped its controversial lottery
system for reuniting immigrant
families and adopted a first-come,
first-served online system after
an angry backlash from would-be
sponsors.
Under the family reunification
program, about 20,500 parents
and grandparents will be admitted
to Canada in 2019, and 21,000
next year.
According to CBC, this year,
27,000 were allowed to sign the
“interest to sponsor” form online,
accounting for duplication and
errors. Eligible sponsors must
provide proof of status and financial
eligibility.
The previous lottery
process
itself
replaced
another first-in system.
That system was unpopular
because it led to a “mad
rush” every January, with
people lining up at the doors
of the processing centre
overnight or paying place-
holders in the queue to
deliver applications prepared
by consultants or lawyers.
But the lottery system
was also contentious, with
critics calling it unjust
because it was gambling with
peoples’ lives, CBC reported.
Conservative
immigration
critic Michelle Rempel said the
process that many are panning as
unfair is “consistent with a pattern of
failures” by the Liberal government
on immigration issues, including
its handling of asylum seekers
crossing into Canada from the
U.S. outside official border points.
She said the Liberals
“abdicated
responsibility”
by
instituting a lottery system, but
the new process only gave people
who were following the rules mere
minutes to submit their forms.
Parents and grandparents of
Canadian citizens or permanent
residents can also apply for a ‘super
visa’, which allows them to extend
a visit for up to two years after the
initial entry into Canada.
Rempel said: ““The Liberal
government is sending a very
disturbing message to Canadians
and newcomers: play by the
rules and expect long delays and
backlogs – if your application gets
accepted at all. Conversely, break
the rules and enter the country
illegally via Roxham Road and
expect to wait 0 days to be given
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
access to all Canada has to offer.
“Trudeau has set up a
permanent immigration stream
at Roxham Road that has so far
allowed 40,000 people to illegally
enter the country from safe places
like Upstate New York,” according
to Rempel.
NDP Immigration, Refugees
and Citizenship Critic Jenny Kwan
said in a statement: ““As predicted,
the Liberal government’s approach
to family reunification for parent/
grandparent sponsorship is a
colossal failure. Just 11 minutes
after the quota was opened,
IRCC announced that the annual
limit had been reached and the
application process was closed.
Frustrated family members are
once again left out in the cold.”
Kwan also said: “First it was
the unjust luck of the lottery draw
system; now families are being
pitted against each other in break
neck speed to get in front of the
line just to be able to apply. The
Liberal government has managed
to dehumanize and devalue the
important role parent/grandparent
sponsorship can play for Canadian
families and the Canadian
economy. Treating families this
way is more than an insult. “