Honourable members, thank you for inviting me to speak to you today to share my thoughts on the impact of COVID-19 on Canada's immigration systems.
I'm currently serving as the national chair of the CBA, but while I'm here, I've been invited to speak in my personal capacity—so basically not the chair—and any comments I make are mine alone. I'm grateful for the opportunity to share them with you.
The pandemic has caused significant disruption within the delivery of immigration services, but it has also shined a light on areas that desperately need improving. One of those areas is the need to modernize the entire immigration processing network. The complete digitization of the immigration system must be paramount. The IRCC has made great strides with temporary residents and express entry; however, all paper-based applications must be transitioned online as soon as possible.
Some of the hardest hit cohorts over the course of this pandemic have been those in paper-based queues. This committee has heard considerable testimony regarding the hardship faced by families, spouses and partners, parents and grandparents, and even the most vulnerable cohort of all—the children. We have heard the stories of families trapped abroad with their internationally adopted children, unable to come to Canada because of visa office closures.
This pandemic and the necessity for social distancing is not going away any time soon. Because of the overreliance on overseas missions and their antiquated methods of processing visa applications, countless people have suffered. We must find a way to modernize the issuance of visas. I know that security concerns are paramount; however, why must a PR visa be imprinted in a passport in the first place? Why can't a letter with a scannable bar code not suffice? Why can't biometrics be completed at the port of entry when landing?
We place far too much emphasis on overseas missions to administer the immigration programs in relative isolation. We need all PR applications to be fully digitized so that they can be processed anywhere within the network—exactly what has been happening with express entry and the temporary resident applications for years.
I commend this committee for their desire to make things better for those who suffering. Although there have been many proposals put forward, I want to share with you my top three list of major concerns that I think should be addressed first. These are areas that need immediate attention. After all, that's the purpose of this committee in the first place: to identify immediate needs and find solutions. The systemic problems will have to get addressed when they get addressed, but my recommendation is not before these top three.
The first systemic problem is obviously family reunification. I echo what my colleagues have said. The application of paragraph 179(b) should be exempt for any family member seeking to be reunited with immediate family. Paragraph 3(1)(d) of the act itself specifically states that one of the objectives of IRPA is “to see that families are reunited in Canada”.
Spouses' TRV applications need to be facilitated, not, as we've heard in previous [Technical difficulty—Editor] treated as a “kiss of death” in many cases. Families trapped abroad with internationally adopted children should never be turned away by this country when a facilitation TRV or TRP is sought.
The solution for this would be to create another super visa program for those spouses, or create clear, unequivocal program delivery instructions confirming that paragraph 179(b) just doesn't apply and, instead, put an emphasis on the generous application by officers of subsection 22(2), the dual intent provision.
The second systemic problem is that there are the PR applicants trapped outside with expired COPRs. They have quit jobs, pulled kids out of school, liquidated assets and waited on travel letters that never came. This cohort must be landed in 2020. There is no excuse for this not happening. If they can travel, they should be facilitated. Just issue the travel letters to those who are ready and able and apply the necessary resources that are going to be needed to get this group through. They're a relatively small cohort, but no less worthy of facilitation.
The third systemic problem is the plight of our foreign workers on the front lines. There's got to be a pathway to PR for this extremely vulnerable population. They've been exploited long enough, and a program must be created that targets them. The provinces could step up, but this is really a federal responsibility. The express entry program could be adjusted to allow increased points for front-line work experience; however, because of the fixation that IRCC has with skilled work experience to the exclusion of low-skilled work, a new program would need to be created. This program would be similar to the guardian angel program. We could call it the “Canadian front-line experience class”, the CFEC.
We must look first to those already in Canada to reach the ambitious goals announced in the recent levels plan.
Thank you very much. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.