Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - June 2010
The processing time for immigrant applications has been cut nearly in half since 2005, according to a new study.
Analysts are attributing the change mostly to modifications made by the Conservative government over the past two years � in particular, changes made to the federal skilled worker program designed to target immigrants whose skills are particularly in demand in Canada.
In 2008 the government implemented a new policy that outlined a list of 38 occupations that were considered highest priority. Workers with experience and training in these particular fields had their applications considered in priority.
Skilled workers saw their processing times go from upwards of five years down all the way to an average of seven months.
�Skilled workers are no longer facing very poor service from Immigration Canada,� said Richard Kurland, the immigration consultant who conducted the latest study of processing times. �Our immigration system has gone from being a supertanker that needs three days to stop or to turn, to being a nimble rabbit.�
That praise, however, does not extend to all areas of Canada�s immigration program. Critics say that the government has been lagging in this area, as many cases of family reunification are still facing vast waiting time as long as five to even 10 years.
A spokesman for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration denied allegations that the government has not been doing enough to reduce waiting times in sponsorship cases as well.
�We [at the Department] continue to process applications from family members, particularly from spouses and dependent children, but attracting immigrants who are most likely to help grow our economy remains our focus,� said the spokesman.
Source: National Post
