Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - January 2009
Once again, the Canadian government is struggling to deal with ballooning delays in paperwork processing due to regulation changes.
In 2002, a new law required all of Canada’s permanent residents to carry status cards in order to travel outside the country. Most permanent residents obtained these cards in 2003. The cards were valid for five years.
Now that most cards have expired, the Department of Citizenship and Immigration is racing to process thousands of renewals. The average wait time to receive a new card has jumped from between 6 and 8 weeks one year ago to eleven weeks today.
The jump was anticipated and “additional staff was assigned” according to a department spokesperson, “[However] demand outstripped what we originally anticipated.”
A similar situation arose two years ago when regulation changes made passports mandatory for any Canadian wishing to enter the United States.
Source: Edmonton Journal
