Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good afternoon. My name is Irena Sompaseuth. I am the settlement services manager with LUSO Community Services in London, Ontario. Thank you for having me here today to share my feedback with respect to the experience and the challenges that newcomers currently face with immigration application processing times.
LUSO is a neighbourhood resource centre with a variety of programs that support the needs of vulnerable and marginalized communities, including newcomers and immigrants of all immigration categories. Through our settlement services programs, newcomers can access information and assistance to help them make informed decisions about their settlement and their families' settlement.
We have assisted individuals with various types of settlement needs, such as finding suitable and affordable housing, accessing health care and other services in their community, and finding employment and volunteer opportunities, as well as providing newcomers with information on various immigration applications.
Over the past few years, we have had a high number of clients who have sought assistance with the citizenship application process. While guiding newcomers through the process, we have observed quite a significant variability in the processing times. We have had clients who have submitted their applications for citizenship in 2019 and early 2020 and yet still have not received a response or any update on their applications.
The pandemic had a significant impact on newcomers' lives on so many levels, and it has also affected service delivery and the operations of agencies, businesses and service providers. IRCC has been attentive and proactive with resuming pre-COVID processing times by hiring many new staff to help reduce the backlogs. In the recent period, we have seen that processing times have indeed been reduced, with citizenship applications submitted in late 2021 or early 2022 being processed with pre-COVID processing times.
However, there are still many applications in the inventory with no response or any update provided to the applicants regarding the status of or any potential issues with their citizenship applications. In addition, it has been quite challenging for individuals to connect with an agent from IRCC's call centre. When they call throughout different times of the day within business hours, individuals are not even placed in the queue to wait for an agent to become available. Rather, they are disconnected from the call with a message that all agents are currently busy and to try to call again later.
It is important to state that the backlogs and the delays in processing times have had a major impact on the most vulnerable high-risk applicants, such as refugee claimants. Due to IRCC's limited capacity to process applications in a timely way because of COVID, refugee claimants are facing significant delays to receive their refugee protection claimant documents, to attend an interview and to receive their work permit.
While waiting, they can access limited supports and services; however, these are individuals who have experienced unimaginable hardships and are in a situation where they have very few rights and options. While every refugee claimant has faced their own unique challenges, they all have experienced great obstacles and adversity and are separated from their families, and therefore they are in stronger need of access to supports, care and financial stability.
I have a few recommendations for tackling these issues and reducing the backlogs in immigration applications.
IRCC has recently announced its ongoing work and commitment to strengthen Canada's immigration system and to reduce application backlogs and delays. As part of the plan, IRCC has hired over 1,000 new employees. Through my work with newcomers, I have seen that this has already helped to increase the processing capacity, as more recent applications have been processed with pre-COVID processing times.
While this is a step in the right direction, further work is necessary to have more agents available through the call centres, where applicants can have an opportunity to speak with an agent, ask questions and receive information and an update on their file. Not being able to contact IRCC to receive updates and information has been quite concerning and challenging for many individuals and their families.
It would also be beneficial to have additional staffing resources allocated specifically to processing applications from 2019 and 2020.
Resuming in-person citizenship tests and in-person oaths at citizenship ceremonies would also help to expedite the processing times of citizenship applications, as there are many applicants who miss the ceremony or have to retake the test due to technical glitches at the time of the session.
Lastly, allocating staffing resources to prioritize work permit applications for refugee claimants would help tremendously to alleviate the stress and financial challenges they face during the initial resettlement period in Canada. Without these vital resources and tools, refugee claimants are at a much higher risk of homelessness and other hardships that could further affect their lives and their health.
Thank you for listening and for giving me the opportunity to join the meeting today to share my feedback and recommendations.