OTTAWA – NDP Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Critic Jenny Kwan is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to honour a key campaign promise to the immigrant community.
On September 25, 2015, Trudeau made the following speech and campaign promise:
“The wait time now to bring parents and grandparents to Canada is almost 4 years on average. If your family lives in China, Pakistan, the Philippines or India, you can expect to wait five or six years or more. And in the case of India, family members who are being approved to come to Canada now would have applied in the New Delhi visa office back in April 2009. That’s not acceptable. It doesn’t help Canadian families, and it doesn’t help Canada.
We’ll change that. A Liberal government will make family immigration at the core of its immigration policy, making it easier for families to be together here in Canada makes more than just economic sense. When Canadians have added supports like family involvement in childcare, it helps drive productivity and economic growth and it brings in skilled workers we need so badly. A Liberal government will immediately double the number of applications allowing for parents and grandparents to 10,000 every year. Second, we will double the budget for processing family class applications. Wait times will come down.” (Source)
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website stated today that Canada will start accepting new applications to sponsor parents and grandparents on January 4, 2016 and will accept 5,000 new and complete applications.
Kwan said the Liberal government is breaking another major election promise. As Trudeau has himself noted, family sponsorship is a significant issue for the immigrant community. Yet the cap announced today by the government is no different than the one applied by the previous Conservative government.
“I was concerned when the government announced on their website last November that they had begun accepting new applications without stating the number of applications that they would accept,” said Kwan. “Today’s announcement confirms that they are breaking their promise.”
“There is no reason why they would not honour this election promise to Canadians.”
Kwan cited that today’s announcement is a betrayal to thousands of families who are hoping to reunited with their loved ones. “Canadians voted for change. They want to see a government that delivers on its election promises. Families—many of constituents included—have waited for a long time to reunite with their loved ones. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister McCallum must honour their promise to the immigrant community.”
