Feds to propose more changes to immigration and asylum system

Immigration Minister Marc Miller says further reforms to Canada’s immigration and asylum systems will be proposed in the coming weeks.

This comes on the heels of a significant cut to the amount of permanent residents being admitted to Canada in two years, and the tightening of rules around temporary worker permits.

Statistics provided by Canadian officials show the average wait time to process refugee and asylum claims is around 44 months.

Miller tells the House of Commons immigration committee that the asylum and refugee system is not working the way it should due to volume and inefficiency.

The minister said that this result is not unsurprising, as he says more people are being counselled to file asylum claims where he doesn’t think they should have the ability to do so.

The federal government has slashed immigration targets down from an expected 500,000 per year to 395,000 in 2025 and 380,000 in 2026.

There were nearly 250,000 refugee claims that need to be decided as of the end of September and at the time 48,000 asylum claims had been processed since the beginning of this year.

Ontario is also introducing a framework that will see immigration representatives hit with penalties for those who violate the standards.

The new rules will see the greater compliance and enforcement-related measures for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and includes greater accountability and transparency between immigration representatives, employers and newcomers who are applying to the program.

With efforts underway to also reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada to around 5 per cent of the population by the end of next year, Brampton City Coun. Gurpartap Singh Toor says local businesses could feel the ripple effects.

– With files from INsauga.com