Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, declared that a new task force has been introduced to solve unnecessary delays in the government services including passports, airport services, and application procedures for immigration.
The task force consists of federal ministers on a larger scale and they aim to address issues related to the services, their delivery, and suggestions on how the services can be improved. They also aim to address the gaps in services.
The task force’s main plan is to determine the issues in immigration services and to prioritize what issues need to be looked after first. It will identify where and what action needs to be taken.
It will create solutions both for the short-term and long-term to keep the process free of backlogs and improve the speed and quality of services.
Mr. Trudeau acknowledged the recent delays in the immigration services. He stated that the new task force will efficiently manage the delivery of these services systematically and within a proper timeframe.
The task force will work to improve the government services to meet the expectations of the Canadians. They will work toward providing Canadians with a better system and high-standard services to benefit as per the requirements.
The immigration backlog in Canada equals 2 million applicants
The current immigration backlog equals 2.4 million applicants. With the increasing number of people looking forward to temporary residence, the number of applicants is also increasing. Between April 29 and June 1, the number of applicants increased by 257,499. This number is likely to increase in the future.
The rise in visa applications, for instance, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, often consists of workers associated with agriculture and tourism on a large scale. This is why increasing applications are not uncommon.
The current Express Entry backlog consists of over 31,600 applicants under programs such as FSWP, FSTP, and CEC. Approximately a decreased number of 9,000 applicants has been reported toward the latter part of April.
Express Entry: All Program Draws to be on track from July 6 onwards
FSWP and FSTP Express Entry Draw paused in December 2020 and even the CEC temporarily halted in September 2021. IRCC even decided to finalize the candidates from the Express Entry pool to make room for upcoming candidates. Mr. Fraser, Immigration Minister, even committed to getting the all-program draws on track at the beginning of July. He also pledged to normalize the service standard as per the time duration of 6 months.
IRCC will work toward meeting the service standard requirement by recruiting more staff members by investing mainly in technology.
