Government Accountability

The federal immigration department is being criticized by Acadian history specialists for unfair treatment of members of the French-speaking diaspora community, after it said they may not be entitled to Canadian citizenship because the sources of their family records are not acceptable.

Acadians living outside Canada who obtained citizenship after the November passing of a new law extending citizenship by descent are among those whom the department recently informed may have been granted the right to a Canadian passport in error.

Peggy Sun, the registrar of Canadian Citizenship, wrote in June to about 100 “Lost Canadians” saying she had reasonable grounds to believe that their citizenship status is not valid and informing them it is now under review.

Most of those sent such letters have now had their citizenship certificates and passports restored. But others have been told, in a subsequent letter, that they may have been granted a citizenship certificate in error.

In the case of Acadians, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has taken issue with some baptismal records, birth records and other documents sourced from France and the U.S.

Acadians, emigrants from France, established distinct communities in what is now Atlantic Canada in the 17th century. But sovereignty over much of their land passed to Britain after the signing of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht when much French territory in North America was ceded to Britain.

British colonial authorities suspected Acadians were helping the French, including by trading with their forces. And they found that some fought alongside the French against them. The British forcibly expelled about 11,500 of the 14,000 Acadians between 1755 and 1764 from their territory in the Maritimes.

Some were deported to England, where they were imprisoned and later released. Some hid and others fled to regions under French control including in what is now Quebec and Prince Edward Island, or across the border into what is now the United States. Others were displaced to France, with many eventually finding refuge in Louisiana in what was then a Spanish colony.

Academics specializing in Acadian history say it is unjust for IRCC to penalize Acadians whose forebears were forced out by the British in the 18th century. Many records, including those held by churches and individual families were destroyed in the upheaval.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said it was deeply concerning that Acadians were “being denied recognition of legitimate historical records from France and the United States, even though these jurisdictions hold many of the primary archival documents.”

*Click image or link to read the full news story - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-acadians-immigration-citizenship-unfair-treatment-historians-say/

For six years, Rajesh Sharma has watched his parents grow older from half a world away.

The Vancouver area small businessman came to Canada from India, built a career, bought a home and met the income requirements to sponsor his mother and father.

His father’s health is failing. His mother now struggles to manage their home alone. Sharma spends his evenings arranging medical appointments from Canada and wondering how many more birthdays and family milestones they will miss.

Ottawa’s recent decision to suspend new applications for the Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) until further notice has turned that uncertainty into something more final.

For Sharma and thousands of other immigrants, there is now no application date, no place in the queue and no assurance their aging parents will ever be able to join them permanently in Canada.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the decision leaves Canadians and permanent residents with no date to apply, no guarantee the program will reopen and little hope of reuniting with aging parents caught outside the country.

“The government has shamefully once again suspended new intakes to the Parent and Grandparent sponsorship program,” she said.

“At this rate, it will take decades to clear the backlog. Families cannot afford to wait decades to be reunited with their parents and grandparents.”

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced July 15 that it will stop accepting new interest-to-sponsor forms and will not invite more potential sponsors to submit applications until further notice.

The department said it will continue processing applications already in the system and plans to approve up to 15,000 parents and grandparents for permanent residence in 2026.

The department currently has about 60,500 permanent residence applications under the Parents and Grandparents Program in progress.

Processing times are approximately 33 months outside Quebec and can reach 66 months in Quebec. About 54,000 expressions of interest from the original 2020 pool were still outstanding as of September 2025.

Kwan said the government is managing the backlog by restricting access rather than fixing a system that has kept families waiting for years.

“It has remained closed since 2020, shattering dreams of family reunification for thousands of Canadians and permanent residents,” she said.

“Families who have been eagerly waiting for the application system to reopen are once again being told by the Liberals that they are out of luck. It is a slap in the face of families who have waited so long to reunite with their loved ones.”

The suspension comes as Ottawa sharply reduces the number of parents and grandparents it plans to admit.

Under the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, the federal government has set a target of 15,000 admissions through the program in each of the next three years.

The previous plan had called for 21,500 admissions in 2026, meaning the new target represents a reduction of about 30 per cent.

*Click image or link to read the full news article - https://asianpacificpost.com/article/10670-%E2%80%9Chow-many-more-years-must-i-wait%E2%80%9D.html

The federal immigration department is facing calls to rethink a key family reunification program after it paused applications to sponsor grandparents and parents to settle in Canada as permanent residents, leaving thousands waiting years for their loved ones to join them.

On Wednesday, IRCC announced on its website that it will not accept any new formal expressions of interest to sponsor parents and grandparents to settle in Canada until further notice. It said it would also pause invitations to potential sponsors to apply to bring their parents and grandparents here to settle.

In a statement, Taous Ait, a spokesperson for immigration minister Lena Metlege Diab said the measures are “part of broader efforts to restore balance across immigration programs and support timely processing, while maintaining public confidence in Canada’s immigration system.”

She said decisions to open or pause new intakes to the program follow assessments of the number of people in “its inventory and application inventory, each year.”

“IRCC will continue processing up to 15,000 individuals this year who have already applied, in line with our Immigration Levels Plan,” she added.

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) is a lottery-like pathway to permanent residence for family members who are foreign nationals. Demand to settle here under the program has far outstripped the number of permanent residence spots available under the government’s immigration targets.

In the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, published in last year’s budget, the government cut its target for new permanent residents under the parents and grandparents program to 15,000 in each of the three years.

In the previous 2025-2027 plan, its target was to admit 21,500 under the program this year.

Ottawa has allowed parents and grandparents living overseas to join family here for years. But in 2020, IRCC established a system creating a pool of expressions of interest-to-sponsor parents and grandparents. There were more than 200,000 responses in 2020. IRCC invited applications to settle here from this pool in subsequent years.

IRCC has previously been criticized for not opening up the pool to allow other immigrants to bring their parents and grandparents to join them permanently.

In a September, 2025 briefing note prepared for Liberal ministers at Question Period about 54,000 expressions of interest-to-sponsor remained from the 2020 pool that year. Ms. Ait said 60,500 applications for permanent residence under the program are in progress.

But NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the system, which includes windows to formally apply, needed to be changed, including “setting standards to ensure that families are reunited in a reasonable period of time.”

The “government has shamefully once again suspended new intakes to the Parent/Grandparent sponsorship program,” she said in a statement.

“It has remained closed since 2020, shattering dreams of family reunification for thousands of Canadians and permanent residents. Families who have been eagerly waiting for the application system to reopen, are once again being told by the Liberals that they are out of luck. It is a slap in the face of families who has waited so long to reunite with their loved ones.”

“At this rate, it will take decades to clear the backlog of those who submitted their interest to sponsor their parents or grandparents,” she said. “Families cannot afford to wait decades to be reunited with their parents and grandparents.”

In order to sponsor parents and grandparents, people living in Canada must show that they have a certain level of income. They must also commit to financially supporting their parents and grandparents. Although those sponsored gain permanent residence, they cannot use government social-assistance programs. However, they can access health care.

*Click link to read the full news story - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-immigration-department-pauses-applications-to-sponsor-parents/

People applying for proof of Canadian citizenship are now facing a projected wait of about 19 months, as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s public processing-time tool shows about 99,500 people waiting for a decision.

The July 7 update marks a sharp increase for citizenship certificate applications, also known as proof of citizenship. In April, the wait for the same category was listed at 10 months, with 56,300 applications in line, according to a CIC News report tracking IRCC’s processing-time. By May 12, the wait had risen to 12 months and the queue to about 70,400, according to Moving2Canada. The same platform said the queue stood at 40,400 on Dec. 10, 2025, five days before changes to Canada’s Citizenship Act took effect.

A citizenship certificate is not the same as a citizenship grant. A grant is for permanent residents applying to become citizens. A certificate is proof that someone is already Canadian under the law, including people born outside Canada to Canadian parents, people replacing older proof-of-citizenship documents, and people whose citizenship may have been restored or recognized because of recent legal changes.

The certificate can matter for practical reasons. IRCC says people who believe they may have become citizens under Bill C-3 — the law that changed Canada’s citizenship-by-descent rules — must apply for a citizenship certificate to confirm their status. The document can also be used to apply for a Canadian passport.

Bill C-3 changed Canada’s first-generation limit on citizenship by descent and came into force on Dec. 15, 2025. Under the new rules, some individuals whose connection to a Canadian citizen extends beyond one generation are eligible to apply for citizenship by descent. 

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said IRCC should publish more detailed information, including how many proof-of-citizenship applications are waiting, what counts as non-routine and how many files have been designated that way.

“Publishing a single processing time creates false expectations and leaves applicants unable to plan their lives,” Kwan said in a written response. “It doesn’t work as public policy and it doesn’t work for the people applying.”

She said delays have real consequences.

“People can’t obtain passports, travel, access opportunities, or fully exercise their rights as Canadians,” she said. “Effectively their lives are in limbo.”

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://newcanadianmedia.ca/proof-of-citizenship-wait-jumps-to-19-months-as-queue-nears-100000/

Liberal members of the House ethics committee shut down debate Tuesday over an Opposition motion to investigate the Carney government’s controversial plan to purchase thousands of unsold B.C. condos from developers.

An “emergency” meeting was called by the Conservatives during the summer recess on Tuesday to launch an ethics probe into the program, which would see Build Canada Homes and BC Housing partner to convert 2,200 unsold condo units in the province into affordable housing. The plan, announced unexpectedly, has received significant criticism from housing advocates and opposition parties, who have called it a “bail out” for developers that made bad calls speculating on rising real estate prices.

However, a Liberal MP moved a motion to adjourn debate on the issue, on the basis that summer is not the best time to tackle the issue, and members of the committee should be in their constituencies.

The motion carried with the Liberal majority in support.

Conservative MP Aaron Gunn had tabled the motion to summon Vancouver developer Bob Rennie, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson, B.C. Housing Minister Christine Boyle to testify before the committee, as well as representatives from Build Canada Homes, BC Housing, and Brookfield Asset Management, among others. Prime Minister Mark Carney had previously been chairman of Brookfield Asset Management before entering politics.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan questioned the federal government’s track record on funding for affordable housing, adding that the condo initiative does not pass “the public smell test.”

“Make no mistake, this latest announcement of the condo conversion is massive bailout for developers, even though the prime minister wants to pass it off as affordable housing,” said Kwan. “No one is buying it.”

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/liberals-shut-down-debate-over-carney-condo-bailout-connections-at-ethics-committee

Weeks ago, IRCC promised that the citizenship reviews for individuals under Bill C-3 would be resolved "within a matter of days". Yet, my office continues to hear from distraught families who have been left completely in the dark—facing suspended citizenship certificates and revoked passports with zero explanation, timelines, or communication from the government.  

This is an unacceptable failure of procedural fairness. We are seeing shocking inconsistency, where one family member has their passport seized while others based on the same lineage do not. To make matters worse, my office has received a report of a serious privacy breach where sensitive personal data was mailed to the wrong applicant.  

These individuals followed the rules, provided extensive documentation, and had their Canadian citizenship officially recognized. They should not be subjected to prolonged trauma and institutional finger-pointing.  I have written an open letter to Immigration Minister Lena Diab demanding immediate accountability.

Parliament passed Bill C-3 to correct historical wrongs for Lost Canadians, not to create a new era of fear and uncertainty where the government can strip your status without explanation. Minister Diab must act now.  

*Click [ Read more ] to read the full letter.

The RCMP says it wasn’t its job to ensure its newest border patrol helicopter was allowed to fly in Canada, even as it defends paying for the Black Hawk it can’t use after it was grounded because of concerns from Transport Canada. 

The Mounties also won’t reveal the cost of the daily fees they are paying towards the $7.5-million contract for the idle chopper, as critics demand answers from Ottawa over how the RCMP chose a helicopter that’s not eligible to fly in Canada over other options.

“The Carney government must provide a full accounting of how this contract was awarded, who approved it, what due diligence was undertaken, and what steps will be taken to protect public funds going forward, especially given the massive increases in military spending that are forecast over the coming years,” NDP public safety critic Jenny Kwan said in a statement to the Star.

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/not-our-job-to-ensure-border-patrol-helicopter-could-fly-in-canada-rcmp-says/article_aa75841e-c421-43ca-960b-47ef24197c0b.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Statement by Jenny Kwan on Lost Canadians Suspension of Citizenship Certificates

The federal government's sudden reversal on the suspension of citizenship certificates issued under the new citizenship-by-descent provisions raises more questions on how IRCC is carrying out its mandate under the current Minister.

Just days after some newly recognized Canadians were suddenly, without warning, ordered to surrender their citizenship certificates and informed that their status was under review, IRCC has now begun notifying many of those same individuals that their citizenship claims are valid after all.

According to those affected, no new evidence was requested and no additional documentation was provided between the decision to revoke their certificates and the decision to reinstate them.

Canadians deserve to know: what happened?

For families who had finally received recognition of their Canadian citizenship after years of waiting, these letters caused enormous distress. Some were told that their citizenship certificates were no longer valid. Others were warned that any passport issued on the basis of those certificates could be invalidated. Families were left wondering whether they could trust the very documents the government had issued to them.

The Minister has acknowledged that an internal review is underway. That review must be accompanied by a full public explanation.

I am calling on the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to answer the following questions:

• Why were these citizenship certificates suspended in the first place?
• What changed between the original surrender notices and the subsequent revalidation letters?
• How many people were affected by these actions?
• Why were applicants not given an opportunity to provide clarification or additional evidence before being ordered to surrender their citizenship certificates?
• What measures are being put in place to ensure this does not happen again?

The fact that some files were apparently reinstated without any new evidence raises serious concerns about the consistency of the department's decision-making process.

This issue extends beyond the individuals who received surrender letters. More than 4,000 people have obtained citizenship under the amended citizenship-by-descent provisions, and many are now wondering whether their own status could be called into question without warning.

Citizenship is a fundamental legal status that shapes a person's future, family plans, mobility, and sense of belonging. Canadians should be able to have confidence that when the government grants citizenship, that decision has been properly reviewed, verified and can be relied upon.

The Minister owes affected families a clear explanation of what went wrong and what safeguards will be put in place to prevent this from happening again.