‘Unprecedented’ increase in immigration cases creates unmanageable workloads for Federal Court, says chief justice

Immigration cases, and thus IRCC, have for a long time been the largest number of federal court cases. IRCC has long felt that the extensive possibilities to appeal decisions was, if not unmanageable, something that needed reform. The increases flagged here are staggering, reflecting both immigrant and migrant concerns as well as a “legal industry” that has grown commensurately:

A massive increase in immigration cases in the last six years has created unmanageable workloads at the Federal Court, says Chief Justice Alan Diner.

The Federal Court has jurisdiction over a number of immigration matters, such as visa applications, refugee claims, admissibility cases and removals.

Diner, who was sworn in as the top judge for the Federal Court on July 6, said when he joined the court in 2014, it typically saw between 5,000 and 6,000 immigration cases a year.

In 2021, immigration filings quickly began to climb, with 9,700 cases brought before the court that year. Now Diner said the Federal Court is on track to see upwards of 33,000 immigration filings this year alone.

“The judges have the pedal to the metal and are trying to do their utmost,” Diner said.

“They’re working around the clock, working weekends, working vacations, court staff, the same thing, available evenings, available weekends to try and deal with this volume.”

The rapid increase in immigration-related cases coincides with an increase in the number of permanent and temporary immigrants, in addition to asylum seekers, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 14,000 immigration cases were filed between Jan. 1 and June 30, with 28,000 pending. Almost 1,000 cases have been granted hearings for a judicial review….

Source: ‘Unprecedented’ increase in immigration cases creates unmanageable workloads for Federal Court, says chief justice