Immigration

We live in a time of rising global uncertainty. It is more important than ever that the Canadian immigration system can respond to arising global crises in an expedient and flexible manner. Alarmingly, this is not the case.

Even before major global refugee crises such as the Afghanistan, and Ukrainian crises, IRCC has been struggling with massive backlogs in all the immigration streams. Delayed immigration application is the most common request for assistance at my office, with some applications delayed for years! Behind the delayed applications are separated families, missed opportunities, and in some cases, immigration is a life-and-death situation for people who need to leave dangerous situations.

To start, IRCC should stop the practice of returning applications when there are minor mistakes and missing information and documents that can be easily provided by applicants. IRCC must also end oppressive immigration policies such as the inhumane cap on parent/grandparents’ sponsorship applications, closed work permits for migrant workers, and the unfair treatment of caregivers and domestic workers.

Lack of resources for IRCC is the major root cause of delayed applications. I will continue to advocate for adequate resources for IRCC to process applications in consistently reasonable timeframes and for immigration policies that are more just.

Radio-Canada: Where is Canada's immigration minister? Community groups are asking

MPs question Lena Diab's performance at question period and in committee

Criticism is coming not only from opposition parties, but also from Diab's own Liberal colleagues.

Away from the cameras, 10 Liberal MPs spoke to Radio-Canada about her performance. They were granted confidentiality in order to express themselves freely.

Of those, only one defended Diab's job performance. Although several of them emphasized that she is a "good person" in charge of a "difficult" portfolio, nine MPs said they believe that the minister is overwhelmed and are openly questioning her place at the cabinet table.

"It doesn't make sense. In the House of Commons, many MPs hold their breath when she answers questions from the opposition," said one Liberal elected official.

"We're afraid she'll put her foot in her mouth."

New Democrat Jenny Kwan, her party's immigration critic, said that both Carney and Diab are responsible for how the immigration file is handled.

"That responsibility is to be responsive to stakeholders, to take these issues seriously, to examine the policies, to evaluate them, to hear from opposition and the public and look for ways to improve them," she said.

"That is their job."

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lena-diab-immigration-minister-criticism-9.7103914

Hill Times: Failed asylum-seeker motion shows Conservatives ‘smelled blood in the water’ with minister, immigration as wedge issue, say politicos

Conservatives are capitalizing on the recent drop in public support for immigration, but risk being seen as too MAGA adjacent, say observers. Meanwhile, the immigration minister's own colleagues question her handling of the file.

The Conservatives’ defeated motion targeting health-care coverage for asylum claimants shows weaknesses on both the part of the Liberal immigration minister and the official opposition leader, with MAGA-like rhetoric posing political risk for the latter, observers say.

Jordan Leichnitz, a former NDP strategist who now works for the German non-profit Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, told The Hill Times in a Feb. 26 interview that the Conservatives’ pressure on the immigration file is a reflection of their own political fragility.

“To me, it’s a manifestation of their political weakness right now. They turn to these arguments because they’re very mobilizing for segments of their base at moments where they feel politically more vulnerable,” she said.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/02/28/failed-asylum-seeker-motion-shows-conservatives-smelled-blood-in-the-water-with-minister-immigration-as-wedge-issue-say-politicos/493465/

CBC News: Canadian passports are about to get more expensive

The cost of a Canadian passport is about to rise and plans by Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to overhaul the way it sets prices could result in them being even more expensive in the future.

An order-in-council adopted in late January calls for the government to begin tying passport prices to the consumer price index (CPI). On March 31, the cost of a Canadian passport will rise by 2.7 percent, the CPI increase in April 2024.

For example, for those applying within Canada, the price of a five-year passport would rise to $123.24 and the cost of a 10 year passport would increase to $164.32. For those who apply from outside Canada, a 10-year passport would cost $267.02.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said some residents of her Vancouver East riding already have difficulty affording what has become an important piece of ID, even within Canada.

"That's another burden that the Liberal government is putting on everyday Canadians," she said.

Kwan said the plan to overhaul passport prices to better reflect the program's cost "is absolutely code for the government to look to increase the cost of accessing a passport for everyday Canadians."

Kwan said Canadians expect the government to live up to its word.

"When they make a commitment, they should follow up and make sure that they follow through," she said.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-passport-price-increase-9.7109168

CPAC HEADLINE POLITICS: NDP MP Jenny Kwan Urges Govt Help for Palestinians with Relatives in Canada

At a news conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Jenny Kwan, the NDP critic for immigration and citizenship, calls on the federal government to reform its Special Immigration Measures program to assist Palestinians with relatives in Canada. She is joined by individuals with family members who have been impacted by the Israel–Gaza conflict. (February 26, 2026) (no interpretation)

Click image or link to watch the Ottawa press conference - https://www.cpac.ca/headline-politics/episode/ndp-mp-jenny-kwan-urges-govt-help-for-palestinians-with-relatives-in-canada?id=3332099f-645c-4f9d-917e-0d0b0a7c346f

Toronto Star: Girl, 8, pleads with Ottawa to help reunite with her mother, stuck in Gaza: ‘Please Canada, try your best to help me’

Standing beside a podium in a roomful of adults, Joury Alyazji begged Canada to help her reunite with her mother, who is still trapped in war-torn Gaza.

“This month is Ramadan and my mom is not with me,” said the eight-year-old girl, with the microphone held tightly in her hands.

“I wish that every time when I wake up, I can see my mom. And I wish Canada can help me to bring my mom. I cannot be alone. I’m trying my best to speak English. I am trying to do everything to bring my mom. I wish Canada can help me. Please Canada, try your best to help me please.”

On Thursday, Joury was speaking at an Ottawa news conference to call on the federal government to urgently reform and speed up the special immigration program launched in January 2024 to provide temporary refuge to Palestinians with relatives in Canada.

Ottawa has capped the intakes for the program at 5,000 applications, which have since been filled, but many applicants are still stranded inside Gaza, unable to submit biometrics for screening or in Egypt awaiting processing.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/girl-pleads-with-ottawa-to-help-reunite-with-mom-in-gaza/article_d12bf69c-219b-4ca1-88a2-eeb85b821f28.html

Media Release: Families Separated by Gaza Siege Urge Federal Government to  Immediately Reform and Expedite Special Immigration Measures

Ottawa — Families deeply impacted by the Israeli attacks on Gaza joined MP Jenny Kwan to call on the federal government to urgently reform and accelerate the Special Immigration Measures program established to provide refuge to Palestinians with relatives in Canada.

In January 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced a temporary public policy intended to offer safe haven to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with family ties in Canada. The government assured Canadians that if they had loved ones in Gaza, they could apply to bring them to safety. More than a year later, families say the program’s incredibly slow processing times and structural barriers have left many separated and at deep risk.

“By all accounts, this seems to be a system and a process set up by the federal government that is ultimately designed to fail. The promise of humanitarian assistance offered by Canada is, by all intents and purposes, a fiction for far too many families that have suffered through the bloodshed in Gaza,” said MP Jenny Kwan.

Globe & Mail: Ottawa set to reduce warrantless powers for law enforcement in refined border-security bill

Ottawa is preparing to make changes to its shelved border-security bill to try to get it back on track, including removing provisions that would have given the police and the country’s spy agency warrantless powers to demand to know whether Canadians have consulted a doctor or therapist.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s Bill C-2 faced a backlash from civil-liberties groups, lawyers and tech experts, who accused the federal government of overreach and potentially breaching the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Opposition MPs said they would not support the bill, which included a lawful-access regime granting new powers to allow the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and police services to obtain electronic subscribers’ data.

In response to the backlash, Mr. Anandasangaree shelved the bill. He instead introduced a slimmed-down version that excluded some controversial passages from the original, including one that would have enabled Canada Post employees to open people’s mail. The revised version, known as Bill C-12, has been progressing through Parliament.

The minority Liberal government is now consulting on potential changes to the original border bill to try to get opposition support.

NDP public safety critic Jenny Kwan last year said the bill was so broadly worded, it could allow the police to demand that a psychiatrist disclose the identity of a patient without a warrant.

The federal government, which has been meeting with opposition MPs and experts about the bill, is preparing to refine the wording to clarify that the new powers would not apply to obtaining Canadians’ medical information.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-set-to-reduce-warrantless-powers-for-law-enforcement-in-refined/

New Canadian Media: Sudanese Canadians waiting years to bring family from war-torn home country

Sumaya was just one of dozens of people waiting in western Sudan for a simple notification from Canada’s immigration officials welcoming her to Canada. She died in Darfur in western Sudan, before her paperwork was processed — just one piece of paper and maybe a safe flight away.

While she was waiting for a message from Canadian immigration, the war caught her and Sumaya became one of a growing number of Sudanese victims who have died with an “incomplete” file in Canada’s immigration queue. The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in April 2023 and has turned into a brutal humanitarian catastrophe. Since then, millions have been caught in the crossfire of ethnic violence and starvation, with no end in sight.

In 2024, Ottawa launched the Sudan family reunification pathway, and the government announced it would be a lifeline for the Sudanese-Canadian community. But what was supposed to be an emergency way out of the country has led to bureaucratic delays and wait times that could last for years.

As of January 2026, the war in Sudan has surpassed 1,000 days of relentless violence, with conservative estimates placing the death toll at more than 150,000 and creating the world’s largest displacement crisis according to the World Health Organization.

Based on calculations by federal MP Jenny Kwan, people will wait 13 years for their paperwork to be approved.

“It is based on the number of applications in the backlog for the three categories and current processing rate based on the levels plan under ‘Other’ category,” said Kwan, the NDP’s immigration critic.

“A ِ13-year wait is a denial of safety,” Kwan told New Canadian Media. “Family reunification is supposed to be a humanitarian pathway, not a bureaucratic lottery that forces people to wait through war, displacement and famine.”

Click image or link to read the news story - https://newcanadianmedia.ca/sudanese-canadians-waiting-years-to-bring-family-from-war-torn-home-country/

Toronto Star: Their loved ones died waiting for Canada to let them in. Now they’re pleading on behalf of others from Sudan

New Democrat MP and immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the community faces not only an onerous application process and financial pressures to sponsor loved ones but is also competing against Hong Kongers fleeing Communist China and Ukrainians seeking protection from the Russian invasion.

Not only has Ottawa reduced the humanitarian permanent residence spots from 10,000 last year to 6,900 in 2026 and 5,000 for 2027 and 2028, Kwan said it is now processing all these applications on a first-in, first-out basis. That means Sudanese would be processed last because both the Hong Kong and Ukrainian pathways were launched earlier, she added.

Sudanese applicants “are not here in Canada waiting for their permanent residence status,” Kwan told the Toronto news conference. She projected it would take about 13 years to process all these Sudanese files.

“They’re in a war zone trying to get to safety. The government needs to act with the commensurate urgency in bringing those families to safety.”

Click image or link to read the news - https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/sudanese-resettlement-in-canada/article_4e2dcacd-24cd-4a77-bcdb-e80e27526da8.html

Media Release: Canada’s “Promise of Safety” for Sudanese Families Is Failing — Delays Have Cost Lives

Sudanese Canadian families, joined by Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan and community advocates, held a press conference today to denounce what they describe as a false promise by the federal government to reunite families and bring them to safety, as prolonged immigration processing delays continue to result in preventable deaths.
Families shared testimony of parents, children, and relatives who died while waiting for Canadian immigration approvals—despite having submitted applications under Canada’s Sudan family reunification and humanitarian pathways.