John McCallum says Liberals remain committed to doubling family reunification

The increasing family reunification commitment was targeted to visible minority and immigrant communities where this was an issue such as Sikh Canadians (the Liberals swept all ridings where Sikh Canadians were significant).

Find the phrasing of the Conservative critic’s attack odd given that they lost all of these ridings where family reunification likely played a role.

However, another example of the challenge in translating commitments into action, especially when operational and capacity issues are significant:

The Liberal government says it remains committed to doubling to 10,000 the number of applications it will process each year for family reunification of parents and grandparents.

However, the government’s Citizenship and Immigration website says applications are now being accepted for 2016 — and cautions in bold text that the number of applications is capped at 5,000.

Justin Trudeau promised during the election campaign that a Liberal government would double the cap as part of a package of immigration reforms.

The annual limit on family reunification applications for aging parents and grandparents was brought in by the former Conservative government, which called the program an abuse of generosity.

The Liberal government did not explain why the 5,000-application cap remains flagged on the website, but in an emailed statement, Immigration Minister John McCallum said he still plans to double the cap.

He said he will consult his cabinet colleagues on the change early in the new year.

“We are committed to reuniting families and we intend to meet the commitment to double the intake of PGP sponsorship applications from 5,000 to 10,000 per year,” the statement said.

The measure to double the application cap is also listed among the “key commitments for action in first 100 days” cited in the prime minister’s briefing books, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

‘Forget #sunnyways’

Nonetheless, Conservatives jumped on Citizenship and Immigration’s web page notification Monday as evidence of “yet another unachievable Liberal campaign promise.”

Calgary MP Michelle Rempel posted on Facebook: “Keeping a realistic goal of 5,000 applications a year was part of our Conservative government’s initiative to be prudent managers of government. It was totally irresponsible of Trudeau to promise more than his government is able to deliver.”

In a subsequent post on Twitter, Rempel said “Forget #sunnyways. The new mantra is ‘over promise and under deliver.'”

Source: John McCallum says Liberals remain committed to doubling family reunification – Politics – CBC News