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Frustration over online applications to bring family to Canada fill up in mere minutes
2-06-2019
Frustration over online applications to bring family to Canada fill up in mere minutes
On January 11, 2019 -The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, announced the Parents and Grandparents (PGP) Program interest to sponsor form will be available to potential sponsors starting at noon EST on January 28, 2019.
The Minister stated, “Family reunification is an immigration priority for the Government of Canada. It supports Canada’s economic prosperity and it further strengthens our communities. Parents and grandparents often help care for children, increasing their parents’ ability to work and study, and to make meaningful contributions to their communities. In reuniting Canadian citizens and permanent residents with their parents and grandparents, not only do we help these families to succeed – doing so also benefits our entire country”.
Among the success of his department, the minister highlighted that
• In 2018, after removing duplicates, the department received 93,836 interest to sponsor forms.
• Consistently high admissions levels for parents and grandparents over the last few years had allowed the government to eliminate the application backlog. The application inventory had dropped from a peak of 167,000 people in 2011, to just over 28,000 people in October 2018.
The program however has not met the expectations of potential Sponsors. Within 11 minutes the online application reached its limits. More than 100,000 attempts were made and about 27000 applications went through.
The launch of the 2019 PGP Program was to include a new and improved intake process. To address concerns from clients and stakeholders about the previous intake process, the Government of Canada had listened and had taken steps to provide a first-in-first-served approach for 2019. The approach was supposed to, “Further enhance the client experience by keeping the application process fair for all, while remaining an easy-to-access electronic method for applicants.”
As a family reunification program, the PGP Program gives Canadians and permanent residents the opportunity to have their parents and grandparents come to Canada to live permanently. Given the continuing interest in the program, IRCC has increased the annual cap on applications it will accept in 2019 to 20,000 – 4 times the number of applications accepted in 2015. This increase was made possible by an over 80% reduction of the application backlog and processing times that have been shortened from 7 to 8 years, to about 2 years.
Upon the launch of the program, Hon. Michelle Rempel, Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship said, “Justin Trudeau is misleading Canadians and newcomers when it comes to the Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program. All he has actually done is increase the number of applications to the program, without increasing the number of parents and grandparents that get permanent residence each year.
“In fact, by increasing the number of applications but not changing the numbers that are accepted, Justin Trudeau is creating a processing backlog. Access to a waiting list is not access into Canada, and Canadians and newcomers expect better.
“Under our previous Conservative government, we provided permanent residency to 20,000 to 25,000 parents and grandparents each year, while also tackling the backlog in applications. Justin Trudeau has not increased this number. Instead, he is prioritizing tens of thousands of illegal border crossers to gain entry into Canada.
“Last year, Trudeau tested a reckless experiment on the program by instituting a lottery system, and this year he only gave applicants 10 minutes to fill out the sponsorship form. Canadians know that this is not fair.
“Conservatives will continue to hold the Trudeau government to account and expose their attempt to mislead the public.”
Meanwhile, applicants showed their frustration over the process on social media networks.
Rumease Siddiqui had no choice but to vent his frustration on his twitter handle. “This is ridiculous! Been waiting for years now... should have kept the portal open so people can at least apply and you can select first 20,000! Unlike shutting it down. I will be contacting my MPA for this.
https://twitter.com/rumease/status/1089936845318819840
Irshad Osman Questioned whether if the program was legit. "Is today Parental sponsorship form Legit."
For those who could not make it this year, their only hope is to try their luck next year.
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