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.

Parliament VIDEO: Justice, respect and human rights for migrant workers - landed status on arrival

MP Jenny's Kwan's speech in Parliament on April 26, 2022 addressed the Liberals' failure to ensure the health and safety of temporary foreign workers.:

HANSARD: Jenny asks if paperwork is more important than saving lives

HANSARD: Jenny asks when the government will implement visa-free travel to Ukrainian refugees in need

IN THE NEWS: Hill Times - Liberals have misplaced priorities for immigration, say opposition MPs

“Some of the funding allocations within the budget were misplaced. The government’s priorities are out of place, as it seems that they’re putting more energy towards strengthening the bureaucracy that has contributed to the government’s failure, than helping to resettle, and to process applications, and [address] the backlog,” said NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) in an interview.
Kwan said the government needs to provide further transparency about what exactly the purpose of these funds will be, particularly as they are going to CBSA and CSIS—two organizations that are not exactly tasked with welcoming asylum-seekers in.
“When they say they’re strengthening the integrity of the government system, maybe what they can do is strengthen the integrity of the system by ensuring that applications are processed in a timely manner,” she quipped.

HANSARD: Jenny advocates for three petitions regarding Afghan immigration and the environment

MEDIA RELEASE - Migrant workers deserve respect and dignity

People who come here to work deserve dignity and protection. There is no denying that there is a power imbalance in the Temporary Foreign Workers program that has resulted in many migrant workers being exploited, including being subject to wage theft and poor working conditions. We’ve seen the horrors of how TFWs are put in substandard housing, unable to isolate in dense living quarters during the pandemic and unable to speak up until their health was affected. This highlights the ongoing and deep-seated problem with the TFW program.
The findings of a recent damning report by the Auditor General exposed the Liberal government's failure to ensure the health and safety of temporary foreign agricultural workers where Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) provided little assurance that workers were protected during the 2020 and 2021 growing seasons. In fact, even though the Liberals promised they would take action to address this blatant violation of the worker's rights in 2020, the quality of inspections have gotten worse. By adding more TFWs to the system, ESDC will be spread even thinner and struggle even more to ensure the safety of these workers.

Parliament VIDEO: Calls for how Canada can better support Ukrainians fleeing Putin’s war

On March 29, 2022, MP Jenny Kwan gave a speech on the situation at the Russia-Ukraine border, and putting out the NDP's calls to the government for how Canada can better support Ukrainians fleeing Putin's war.:

HANSARD: Jenny asks the guarantee of Ukrainian refugees get resettlement supports anywhere Canada

IN THE NEWS: Hill Times - ‘Racism plays a role in immigration decisions,’ House Immigration Committee hears

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.) her top priority on this topic is to convince the government to put an independent ombudsperson in place whose job it would be to assess IRCC policies and the application of said policies as they relate to differential treatment, systemic racism, and gender biases.

“Let’s dig deep. Have an officer of the House do this work completely independent from the government,” she said in an interview with The Hill Times.

At the March 22 meeting, Kwan asked all six witnesses to state for the record if they agreed that the government should put such an ombudsperson in place. All six witnesses agreed. Kwan questioned the ability of the department to conduct its own internal reviews.