Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 17th, 2011

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

For the five-year multiple visa, as a parent or a grandparent I am eligible to apply. Is that correct?

[Claudette Deschênes]

Yes.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Does the department track in any way the number of five-year multiple visas that are actually issued to parents or grandparents?

[Claudette Deschênes]

In terms of parents and grandparents, that is going to be a new tracking, but, yes, we will be tracking it. In the past, before global case management, it was not something that we could track in our system. With the implementation of global case management overseas we've been able to start tracking that.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Does the department have any sense of how many might be dropping out of the processing queue because now you can get the 10-year visiting visa? Have you any projection whatsoever, or are you just anticipating there will be some interest to drop out?

[Claudette Deschênes]

I will say from an operational perspective, anecdotal information—especially from some of our missions in Asia—has always indicated that some people in the parents and grandparents backlog are not really interested in coming to Canada as immigrants when they get to active processing, so they take a long time to do their things. As the ADM of operations, I don't have clear data to demonstrate that.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Is there going to be an instruction going out to all the immigration posts abroad, like the Philippines and Chandigarh and so forth, which we had before the committee earlier this week, indicating that the department wants to see these super visas and multiple-year visas being better utilized?

[Claudette Deschênes]

Yes, there will be clear instructions. There have already been clear discussions.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Every day I get contacted, in terms of visa requests from someone who wants to be able to invite someone, especially at this time of the year. Am I better off telling the person to wait until December if he is going to apply for the super visa, or should they apply now believing that it cannot be issued until December 1? Do they have to wait until, physically, December 1 comes before they can apply?

[Claudette Deschênes]

From an operational perspective, of course, we try to deal with cases as soon as they come, especially on the temporary movement. Most cases that would apply today would be processed way before the first of December. But if they want to apply for a super visa and they know that they need to get health insurance and they need to do a medical, they can apply and start that process now.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

There are 24,000 letters that you indicated you will be mailing out. That's 24,000 specific applications, and they are going to the sponsors, correct?

[Claudette Deschênes]

That is correct, because we're going to make the sponsor accountable for getting us the forms for their parents and grandparents.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

I think that is a wonderful idea, I must say.

If you're not one of those 24,000, is it safe then to assume that if you don't have this letter by the end of the year and you're sponsoring a parent or a grandparent, they will not be processed in 2012? Is that a safe assumption then?

[Claudette Deschênes]

I don't think it's a safe assumption because, as we've talked about, we don't know how many may decide to tell us they want their money refunded and not processed because they're going to apply for a super visa.

Right now our plans are to send the first 24,000 letters, and we have a plan to send another group of letters once we start seeing what we see.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

What is our current inventory in terms of the number of parents who are being sponsored?

[Claudette Deschênes]

Off the top of my head, I'm going to say 165,000.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

With a two-year freeze and the issuing of 25,000—and there will be some who no doubt will drop out—what do you anticipate, at the end of the two years, will be the inventory?

[Claudette Deschênes]

We anticipate having brought it down by at least half.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you.

Those were excellent questions, short and brief. I love those questions.

[Claudette Deschênes]

We like the longer ones.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Mr. Menegakis.

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank you both for being here again. As you can very well surmise, we know it is a priority of yours every day dealing with the backlog, the applications, if you will. But dealing with the backlog is a very significant thing because for us, in our own ridings on a daily basis, it's a revolving door, particularly for those of us who have ridings that are very diverse. And it's very disconcerting to look at a family that has been waiting five, six, seven, eight years to bring people in, their parents and grandparents.

I have a two-part question. They both have to do with the action plan for faster family reunification. Have we not done it at all? I have heard that number once before, but I'd like to get back to it. Where do you think we'll be in 2020 in terms of the backlog?

[Les Linklater]

Is that for parents and grandparents?

[Costas Menegakis, Conservative, Richmond Hill, ON]

Yes.

[Les Linklater]

I think our projections are that it would be close to half a million.