The Tasks Fraser Will Be Focusing On
Prime Minister Trudeau revealed the new mandate letters to his ministers in which he outlined priorities for his ministers to pursue. One of those letters was addressed to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, who is now tasked with implementing the agenda provided. Along with his cabinet and the IRCC, Fraser now has to focus on the following tasks:
Application Processing
Reducing the time for processing applications and addressing delays that have been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Express Entry
Immigration aims to create more permanent residence pathways via Express Entry for international students and temporary foreign workers.
Family Reunification
The immigration system has to introduce electronic applications for family reunification. A program is being developed to provide temporary residence to the family abroad while their permanent residence applications are being processed.
Municipal Nominee Program
After delays caused by the pandemic, this program should be back in motion. The purpose of the program is to help promote the broader distribution of immigration across Canada.
Citizenship Application Fees
Immigration aims to make the citizenship application process free for permanent residents who have fulfilled all the pre-determined requirements.
Trusted Employer System
This system has yet to be established but is targeted towards Canadian companies that hire temporary foreign workers. The process will simplify permit renewals, establish an employer hotline, and uphold a two-week processing time.
Undocumented Workers
Immigration has been tasked with developing a program to explore more ways of creating a uniform status system for undocumented workers who contribute to the community.
Francophone Immigration
Continuing work with Quebec to support new immigrant’s French language skills who are living and working in Quebec.
Afghan Refugees
Urgent action to increase the number of eligible refugees from 20,000 to 40,000, while resettling vulnerable people from Afghanistan. A special focus has been placed on individuals who supported Canada and its allies, women, LGBTQIA2S+ people, human rights defenders, journalists and members of religious and ethnic minorities.
