Friday, June 02, 2006
globeandmail.com : 100,000 grandparents and parents in immigration backlog
100,000 grandparents and parents in immigration backlog
MARINA JIMENEZ
Globe and Mail Update
Canada's Immigration Department illegally discriminated against people who applied to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada, causing waits to escalate to as long as a decade, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
Currently, documents filed with the lawsuit say, 100,000 parent and grandparent sponsorship cases are in the backlog and applicants are charged a $550 processing fee in advance, even though the files might not be opened for two years, and might not be processed for many more.
Lorne Waldman, the Toronto immigration lawyer who initiated the lawsuit, says the government has no legal right to discriminate against a certain kind of immigration applicant.
Documents obtained under the Access to Information Act show that the Immigration Department deliberately “managed downward” the target for parents and grandparents, the lawsuit says. Ottawa dramatically reduced the Mississauga immigration office's resources to process parent and grandparent applications, and established quotas in offices overseas to restrict the number of visas to parents and grandparents. This plan was not made public, and the lawsuit alleges that the Immigration Department “made efforts to conceal the true state of the backlog and delay.”
globeandmail.com : 100,000 grandparents and parents in immigration backlog
globeandmail.com : 100,000 grandparents and parents in immigration backlog
100,000 grandparents and parents in immigration backlog
MARINA JIMENEZ
Globe and Mail Update
Canada's Immigration Department illegally discriminated against people who applied to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada, causing waits to escalate to as long as a decade, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
Currently, documents filed with the lawsuit say, 100,000 parent and grandparent sponsorship cases are in the backlog and applicants are charged a $550 processing fee in advance, even though the files might not be opened for two years, and might not be processed for many more.
Lorne Waldman, the Toronto immigration lawyer who initiated the lawsuit, says the government has no legal right to discriminate against a certain kind of immigration applicant.
Documents obtained under the Access to Information Act show that the Immigration Department deliberately “managed downward” the target for parents and grandparents, the lawsuit says. Ottawa dramatically reduced the Mississauga immigration office's resources to process parent and grandparent applications, and established quotas in offices overseas to restrict the number of visas to parents and grandparents. This plan was not made public, and the lawsuit alleges that the Immigration Department “made efforts to conceal the true state of the backlog and delay.”
globeandmail.com : 100,000 grandparents and parents in immigration backlog
