There must be an appeal process to challenge the decision of a visa officer at the designated visa post. This would be an appeal procedure similar to the one available at the visa post level for the U.K. and Australia. The current system allows an applicant to appeal to the Federal Court of Canada, which is an expensive and tedious process and is not in the best interests of all the applicants.
The appeal process will make the system more transparent and will avoid lineups of rejected applications at the Federal Court. The new appeal process must be posted on CIC’s website to educate the applicant and will reflect the fairness in the Canadian immigration system. The CIC may charge a nominal fee for this service for applicants who wish to appeal.
I would like to conclude with the following. The integrity of our immigration system can be maintained if the proposed changes are implemented so that every person is treated fairly and equally in the immigration process. The implementations will help develop an efficient system that would prove to be a win-win situation for Canada and the applicant. This will help in the growth of our economy by promoting a multi-billion dollar tourism industry and will allow applicants to recognize the natural justice in the system.
If we don't act now, it will be too late to save our tourism industry, which can hamper our growth as a nation. For the visa posts overseas, I would request that they analyze each application exclusively with an open mindset and provide a proper explanation for every rejected case.
Since the visa officer has the ultimate authority in decision-making, I would suggest that they would be wise to use the authority with great responsibility and control.
I thank you all for giving me the opportunity today.