IN THE NEWS: New Canadian Media - Immigration lawyers want Canada to pause attracting newcomers

Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan, the NDP Critic for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said a better way to reduce IRCC’s backlog and processing times is to put additional staffing resources to process applications and expand the immigration levels. 

“The government cannot continue to rob Peter to pay Paul by taking resources and immigration levels from one stream and reallocating it to another.  All that does is create further problems and chaos in the system,” Kwan told NCM.

IN THE NEWS: Hill Times - Public policies in place for Afghan refugees are being kept private

NDP MP Jenny Kwan (Vancouver East, B.C.), her party’s immigration critic, said she’s never seen an instance of the government not sharing information in terms of a policy that impacts the public. She understands that specific details about which groups the government might be working with or what their strategy is on the ground in Afghanistan needs to be kept private for security purposes. 

“But if there is flexibility with the current situation then we need to know what is that flexibility and how would it apply? Because at this stage, we don’t know. We’re all shooting in the dark,” she said. 

STATEMENT: First 100 Days Pass, and stil no housing advocate to help Canadians

With housing prices skyrocketing under the Liberal government, more than ever, Canadians need affordable housing in this country. There must be transparency in the advancement of the right to housing. There must be someone holding the government to account on their promises to address the housing crisis people are facing across the country. The Liberals cannot be sweep yet another unfulfilled campaign promise under the rug.

MEDIA STATEMENT - Jenny’s response to minister announcement on immigration procesing delays

Additionally, I am concerned that the Minister seems to be satisfied with the processing of family reunification applications. The backlog for outbound family reunification applications are significantly delayed, including the reunification of children of asylum seekers. ​For these refugee families, the current wait times ​in processing now reach upwards of two to three years for dependents of refugee, far from any processing service standards.

IN THE NEWS: CTV - Immigration procesing times to return to standard in 2022: minister

Jenny Kwan, NDP immigration critic, said while she is glad to hear the government is finally taking action to address the immigration backlog, these problems have existed for a very long time.

In an interview, she noted that Fraser excluded the need to address family reunification with respect to the backlogs.

The minister needs to create service standards for all industries and not only some, she said, adding that applicants in the caregiver stream do not receive timelines for processing their application.

IN THE NEWS: Toronto Star - Applicants to Canada’s skilled-worker immigration program will soon face 36-month wait times, documents reveal

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said the skilled worker program is an important immigration stream for Canada and the current pause “will not only put people’s lives in limbo, but result in missed opportunities for Canada, risking that applicants may choose to emigrate to another country that recognizes their talent and experience.”

“Failing to address the backlogs will ultimately create more work for immigration as documents expire and the circumstances of applicants change. It will also fuel additional inquiries by applicants because they are concerned about a lack of progress in their applications. All of this serves only to further tie up the department’s resources.”

IN THE NEWS: CBC - Cultural sites ‘under constant attack,’ director says, as graffiti and vandalism blight Vancouver’s Chinatown

MP Jenny Kwan, who represents the riding of Vancouver East that straddles both neighbourhoods, said she's been advocating for more financial grants for the community at the federal level.

She's also among those lobbying for the neighbourhood to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which would deem it an international landmark with legal protection and could help secure the funding to preserve and maintain its streets.

"We need to do it, and work together to recreate Chinatown with its history and to value its character," she said. "But we need capital investment."

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