Immigration Minister Says the IRCC Is Almost Back on Track
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says that big steps are being taken to get the immigration system back on track. Since the start of the pandemic, the IRCC has been facing a major application processing backlog. However, CIC News reported that Minister Fraser is working hard to end that.
“The good news is I see light at the end of the tunnel…we’re on track right now to restore our pre-pandemic service standard by the end of this calendar year for virtually every line of business,” Fraser said
Returning to Normal By The End Of The Year
As the Minister explained, there were two main causes of the backlog: the pandemic-related IRCC closures and travel restrictions.
In an attempt to curb the processing delay, the IRCC favoured applicants already within the country and focused on transitioning those in Canada to permanent residence. This effort was followed by a commitment to resettling 40,000 Afghan refugees in August 2021 and assisting Ukrainians in February 2022. Since then, around 9,105 Afghans have arrived to Canada and about 51, 383 Ukrainians have found refuge in the country.
Read More: Immigration Minister Pressed on Afghans
The Solutions for Improving Client Experience and Address Backlogs
According to the Minister, resources, policy, and technology and the keys to improving the immigration system.
As it stands, 500 more staff were added and around $470 million of federal funding was added to the budget to improve application processing. With regards to technology, a “digital platform” to modernize and increase the reliability of our system is essential.
These measures are starting to have an impact – more than 200,000 permanent residents landed in Canada so far this year, and work permit approvals have increased by almost 250% compared to last year.
Despite these wins, there continue to be challenges with the processing times.
“My sense is by the end of this calendar year, new applications coming in will have the kind of certainty that we’ll be able to meet our service standard and people will be dealing with 60 days or 6 months or 12 months, not an undetermined period of time,” noted Fraser.
