Eager and frustrated would-be immigrants are awaiting news from Canadian courts in regard to the return of their unprocessed applications.
Last spring, the government of Canada passed a controversial law clearing hundreds of thousands of immigration applications submitted before 2008. Many applicants had been waiting several years only to have their applications and fees returned with little hope of fulfilling the new eligibility requirements for Skilled Workers.
However, a glimmer of hope had appeared earlier this summer when one Canadian court ruled that the government must process the backlogged applications within a reasonable time frame. Despite the ruling, Bill C-38 still went into effect shortly after, infuriating applicants and immigrant advocates across the country.
Before the controversial law was ever made public, efforts were already underway to fight the absurd waiting times that had ballooned up to eight years in some cases. A class action lawsuit was filed against the Department of Citizenship and Immigration last year by over 900 applicants.
Lawyers in the class action suit are now trying to persuade the Canadian court system to force the Immigration Department to process the outstanding files on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. A ruling is expected this month.
Source: Toronto Star