No news is… bad news

No news is… bad news

Canadian Immigration News and Views
By Berto Volpentesta

In office for just a little over two months and government being put to work with the opening of parliament by the Speech from the Throne less than two weeks ago we might expect the Minister or Citizenship and Immigration, Monte Solberg, to be a little quite. But, is no news good news?

The Conservative Party made some election promises related to Citizenship and Immigration and Mr. Solberg has basically been repeating those simple pledges: reduce and eventually eliminate the landing fee, look at foreign credentials and citizenship for adopted children. Recently the minister restated these goals at the Eighth National Metropolis Conference held in Vancouver on March 26, 2006.

The minister also made some interesting comments. Stating that “Processing new applications, quickly and effectively is key for this ministry” the minister addressed a concern that has been extremely painfully obvious to hundreds of thousands of aspiring immigrants to Canada for nearly a decade. Over the last decade processing times of most applications have increased 600% with applications that used to take six months now taking thirty-six and applications that used to take one year now take between five and six years.

So what does the government plan to do to do about this embarrassing situation? It seems that this government, like its predecessors is likely to do nothing except maybe offload this government service to other governments and departments (in the form of more Provincial Nominee Programs and Service Canada involvement). It seems that the government reasons that with hundreds of thousand of applicants waiting to get into Canada there is ample supply and no need to worry about attracting new applicants.

However, there is a growing global skills (human capital) shortage looming and as countries compete for skilled workers Canada should be ready to complete with shorter processing times, more reasonable qualifying factors and possibly incentives that others may offer (guaranteed jobs). In one sense off-loading Immigration to the Provinces is a good strategy as many provincial programs require a guaranteed jobs for intending immigrants and provincial programs also afford a shorter processing time. It will be interesting to track inter-provincial migration over the next few years to see if new immigrants to Manitoba will actually stay in Manitoba (or any other province).

The minister also made the following comment at the same conference, “Our Government is committed to supporting Canadian families…” while speaking of adopted children and the government’s intention to make that process easier. But, has the minister thought of the broader implications of his statement? Family, to many, includes an extended family like parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters and even aunts and uncles. When the minister states that his Government is committed to families does he mean the entire family?

As many Canadians who wish to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada know it is truly a life threatening situation as many are literally “dying” to get in. That is to say, processing times are so long that some parents and grandparents will die before their visas ever arrive. The minister says that immigration is more than just a balance sheet for Canada. What is the cost of losing your parent before you can be united again?

And, if Canada’s immigration program is more than just numbers and Canada is committed to the family, then why is it that over the last year the number of visas issued to parents and grandparents has dropped by nearly 50% while the number of visas issued to Economic Classes have increased (Skilled Workers up 17%, Provincial Nominees up 40% and Business cases up nearly 50%).
No one will argue against improvements to the Economic Class as the people in it will be an engine for economic growth, but minister, please do not insult us with yet another empty commitment. Deeds speak. Will this government address the assault on the family?

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Have a question? Send them to Berto Volpentesta or to the editor.
Berto Volpentesta of Cannex Immigration Specialists has been a practicing consultant in Toronto since 1991 and is a Member, Director and (past) Secretary of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants and a Member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants. You can reach him at: (416) 398 8882 or (416) 787 0612 or by email at berto@canneximmigration.com and on the web at www.canneximmigration.com