The Immigration Backlog – Further restrictions is not the solution

The Immigration Backlog – Further restrictions is not the solution

By Rathika Sitsabaiesan
MP, Scarborough-Rouge River

WE HAVE all heard about the immigration backlog and many of us have experienced the effect of this backlog first hand. But what should the government do to eliminate the backlog?

The current immigration backlog sits at just over 1 million people. That is over 1 million people who are waiting to hear of their Canadian immigration status. The backlog for parents and grandparents who are waiting to come to Canada is in the hundreds of thousands. This is because the number of visas for parents and grandparents issued has been reduced to close to 44%. This past year only 11,000 parents and grandparents were permitted to come to Canada. In 2005 and 2006, the target was 20,000. This is a reduction of 9,000 people.

The backlog for skilled workers has also grown under this Conservative government. In 2005, there was a backlog of 487,000 applications. It now stands at 508,000 applications, showing a growth of 173,000 applicants in the backlog over the past 6 years.

Since their election in 2006, the Conservatives have said that they would reduce the backlog. In 2008, this government passed legislation that gave the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration arbitrary power to enforce what they called “Ministerial Instruction”. Since this time, this power has been used on three occasions; all three times issuing restrictions on either the number of applications received or further restricting who could apply; and all three times the rational used behind these “Ministerial Instructions” was to address the backlog.

Clearly, the steps this government has currently taken to reduce the backlog have not worked. Applicants in the family class and applicants in the skilled workers class are waiting longer and longer.

The Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration began a study this fall, on this exact issue – the immigration backlog. As a member of that committee, we have heard from many educated and experienced people in this field. Time and time again, we have heard that the reductions and restrictions put into force by this government have not proven effective. We have been told by these witnesses that restricting the number of applicants in the skilled workers category has not been an effective way to reduce the skilled worker class backlog.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives came to committee with pre-determined outcomes. They have not listened to what the committee witnesses have said. They have not listened to the experiences of Canadians who have used our immigration system to move to Canada or to have their families join them here.

Instead, the Conservatives already know what their next plan is to attempt to eliminate the immigration backlog. Effective immediately, the parent and grandparent category of the family class no longer exists. While current applications will remain in the queue, through a Ministerial announcement last week, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will not be accepting new applications to sponsor parents and grandparents until 2014.

While we claim to be a country that supports family reunification, we clearly don’t mean it. Refusing to allow families reunify is not the way to deal with the backlog.
While we know that there is a substantial backlog of family class applicants, we also know that there is considerable inequity in the processing of these applications. Wait times for applicants in Colombo, Manila, and Beijing average about twice as long as those for applicants in any European city. Yet rather than commit to looking for a creative, balanced solution to this backlog, the Conservative government has reverted back to its usual response – cuts.

Working as the Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge River, I have spoken with many families who have been waiting years and years to have their parents and grandparents join them here in Canada.

We all know the benefits of having our parents and grandparents here with us. We understand the value of reuniting our families.

I am lucky enough to have had my grandparents join my family here in Canada from Sri Lanka. The value they added to my life growing-up cannot be calculated. I cannot imagine my life growing-up without them.

We need to address the existing inequities in the system and develop a creative, balanced and equitable approach to dealing with this backlog. This includes raising the overall level of immigrants that we accept each year to approach 1% of the population.

Removing the parent and grandparent category from the family class is not the way to deal with the backlog. All it does is prevent Canadian families from uniting with their loved ones.