Most of my day is taken up in speaking with clients who cannot understand why the government is continuing to keep their loved ones from joining them.
We're not talking about people who have health issues or criminal issues. We're talking about people who qualify, who are joining their sons, their daughters. In most cases, they have to wait for four years; for Asians, it's more like six. This is quite shattering for families. It's devastating.
At the end of the day, the family class should not be targeted as they are. Some would argue that there are economic reasons for giving them such a low priority. We don't want them to come and take advantage of our social safety net. If we truly believe that, the government should be clear and say they don't want the family class. We cannot say that we're doing everything for the family class and then give them almost no priority.
I'm not here just to argue for the family class. I think we could do more. A few years ago, the system seemed to be working quite well. Most of my clients, at one point, were going to Kingston, Jamaica. The embassy there was processing Asian clients of mine in three to six months.
A mission in Kingston, Jamaica, with two officers could process dozens of applicants in a matter of three to six months. Now the same mission is taking two to three years for people from Jamaica. We're not talking about people who are coming from outside. We can no longer lodge applications outside. There was good reason for that. This was one of the things that I didn't mind. It was an instruction that came from the then-minister—one had to apply where one lived.
The minister has the power to create lists of occupations that she wants to facilitate, as unfair as that is. Imagine waiting six to eight years. Let's use the movie scenario. You buy a ticket to watch a movie, and you're in line, but then a security guard comes to you and says you're not allowed into the theatre. You say you see seats that are still vacant, and the guard tells you that even though there's a place for you he is choosing not to let you in.
This is what some of us who oppose the amendments are afraid of. It may never happen. Maybe I'm scaremongering, but I don't believe so. I've heard too many immigration ministers promise the sky. Unfortunately, most of them have not even come close to what they've promised.