According to a report by the Global Chinese News, citing the Canadian Press, although the Conservative Party of Canada intends to shorten the processing time for immigration applications, the number of applicants waiting to immigrate to Canada continues to rise. Immigration officials have confirmed that the number of people waiting to immigrate has exceeded one million.
Dr. Winner Xing, President of Worldway, and Ms. Zhang, Executive Director, at the Economic Development Bureau of Saskatchewan, Canada
The long waiting period means that many family members, whether already in Canada or still abroad, must endure a generally helpless waiting period. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney lamented this week that "the situation is serious." He has frequently stated the need to simplify immigration procedures.
The House of Commons Immigration Committee has just agreed to hold eight hearings on this matter starting next week. On the other hand, Kenney has made shortening the waiting time a top priority while reviewing which immigrants should be approved and in what numbers. The review process is in its final stages, but his final assessment is not expected to be completed soon.
New immigrants are struggling to meet labor shortages
Opponents argue that Ottawa has reduced the total number of immigrants allowed into Canada. New Democratic Party immigration critic Don Davies stated that reducing the total number of approvals will only lengthen the waiting time, making it difficult for the federal government to achieve its goal of addressing labor shortages with new immigrants. He pointed out that Kenney has previously stated that Canada's labor force growth must be entirely supplied by new immigrants within five years.
Kenney's spokesperson, Candice Malcolm, stated: "Canada will continue to welcome new immigrants and maintain its status as one of the most open countries to immigration, but Canada needs to carefully manage those who wish to immigrate to Canada."
This means that finding ways to reduce the number of applicants is the only method to shorten the applicant queue. In fact, the Immigration Department has previously implemented measures to control the number of people waiting. Since 2008, the Immigration Minister has had the authority to limit the number of people in certain immigration categories.
Kenney has previously exercised this power. He restricted immigration for foreign skilled workers and recently made cuts to the investment immigration program: Canada will no longer accept any investment immigration applications before next summer. As a result, the immigration approval process can be expedited, and the number of people waiting has also decreased.
