National Consultations on Parent and Grandparent Immigration Launched by Minister Kenney
(firmenpresse) - OTTAWA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 03/23/12 -- National consultations on the redesign of Canada's parent and grandparent (PGP) immigration program were launched today by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.
Faced with backlogs and growing wait times, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is planning to revamp its PGP immigration program. Online consultations are now open for public comment on CIC's and Minister Kenney will host a series of multicity in-person consultations with stakeholders.
"Our government is fully committed to helping families reunite," said Minister Kenney. "The feedback provided by Canadians will guide our government in creating a new program in which future applications will be processed quickly and backlogs will not develop. It will also help ensure the program can operate on an efficient and sustainable basis."
The consultations are being held to discuss the challenges facing the program and seek feedback on possible options for modernizing it.
To deal with the large backlog and lengthy wait times, CIC announced Phase I of the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification in November 2011. First, the Government of Canada increased by over 60 percent the number of sponsored parents and grandparents Canada will admit in 2012 to 25,000. Second, a multiple entry Parent and Grandparent Super Visa was introduced which is valid for up to 10 years. Third, the government committed to consulting with Canadians on how to redesign the parent and grandparent program and fourth, CIC put in place a temporary pause of up to 24 months on the intake of new sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents.
For the PGP program to be sustainable, it must be redesigned to avoid future backlogs. This means finding a way to better balance the number of applications CIC receives and the number of parents and grandparents admitted in a given year. A redesigned program must also be sensitive to fiscal constraints, bearing in mind Canada's generous public health care system and other social benefits.
A revamped program must be transparent and people should be able to easily understand eligibility requirements and know how long it is going to take to process their application.
Unless the demand for spaces in the PGP category is managed when the current pause on application intake is lifted, the backlog and long wait times have the potential to quickly grow again. To avoid this, the future intake of sponsorship applications must be managed. Redesign options are being explored to address a number of questions, such as the following:
"Our government has taken action through a series of balanced measures to reduce the large backlog and lengthy wait times that existed," added Minister Kenney. "I look forward to hearing ideas from Canadians on how to further improve the program."
The launched today feature a discussion paper that outlines the PGP immigration program and policy options being explored through the consultations, as well as a consultation questionnaire. The online consultations are open until May 25, 2012.
What is heard through the in-person and online consultations will help to inform the redesign of the PGP program. A report on the results of the consultations will also be made available on the CIC website later this year.
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Building a stronger Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) strengthens Canada's economic, social and cultural prosperity, helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.
Contacts:
Ana Curic
Minister's Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
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Datum: 23.03.2012 - 18:15 Uhr
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News-ID 1096039
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