Guest: Nicholas Keung, immigration reporter
The pandemic, travel restrictions and the recent refugee crisis in Afghanistan have created some serious issues within Canada’s immigration system. From refugees, to permanent residency holders trying to make their landing in Canada, to those already living in the country waiting for citizenship, everyone has been in limbo as the backlog piles up. To try and address some of this, the federal government announced a special one-time immigration program in April, as a potential pathway to permanent residency for those already in Canada who might be eligible. To qualify, applicants needed to jump through a lot of hoops and navigate a tricky new system, all within a limited time window for limited slots. For thousands of students and workers, this was their only chance to make a life in Canada. Now those who made it that far are in danger of having their dreams dashed, all potentially because of a computer glitch. The Star’s Immigration Reporter Nicholas Keung joins “This Matters” to explain.