RED FM: IRCC pauses new parents and grandparents sponsorship applications

City TV News: Hong Kong PR pathway applicants face more than 10-year wait as program nears end

When the federal government launched the permanent residence pathways for Hong Kong residents, it was described as a faster route for eligible Hong Kong nationals already in Canada to become permanent residents.

Five years later, the Hong Kong pathway is set to close Aug. 31, while tens of thousands of applicants are still waiting.

For applicants like Roger Yeung, the wait is no longer just about immigration paperwork. It is affecting careers, education, and the ability to plan a future in Canada.

Roger Yeung has been living in Vancouver since April 2023. He applied for permanent residence under the Hong Kong pathway in October 2024, but says there has been no progress.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan says the wait is unacceptable.

Kwan says the federal government originally promised expedited processing for Hong Kongers under the lifeboat program, and that the process appeared to work in the first year.

“The government, in this first year of implementation of the Lifeboat Stream A, Stream B program, they did expedite the process,” Kwan said.

“But then, over the years, we started to notice that the government was slowing down in the processing.”

Kwan says the problem grew after Hong Kong pathway applications were grouped under the Humanitarian and Compassionate and Other category.

She said that category also includes other urgent commitments, including Ukraine and Sudan, leaving Hong Kong applicants competing for limited space.

“For Hong Kongers, there are over 33,000 applications waiting in the backlog, and that’s just for Hong Kongers,” Kwan said.

“If you add in Ukraine and Sudan, you can just imagine how lengthy the wait is.”

To clear the backlog, Kwan says the federal government should change the Immigration Levels Plan quota and allocate enough spaces to process existing applications. She also called on Ottawa to restore immigration staffing levels.

“Rebuild the trust. Honour what you promised Hong Kongers, and deliver on the program. Change the quota now,” Kwan said.

*Click image or link to watch or read the news story - https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/07/15/canada-hong-kong-pr-pathway-applicants-wait/

Toronto Star: Liberals won’t say if foreign homebuyer ban will be extended as renewal window narrows

OTTAWA — The Liberal government has yet to say whether it plans to extend Canada’s ban on foreign homebuyers, even as internal briefing notes warned time is running short to renew the policy through the existing regulatory process before the ban expires.

If the government does nothing, Canada’s ban, which first came into force in 2023, will sunset automatically on Jan. 1, 2027. The ban currently prevents anyone who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident from purchasing a home in any urban area in the country.

Housing Minister Gregor Robertson was not available for an interview with the Star, but has previously said the government is examining approaches used in other countries, particularly Australia, where a foreign-buyer ban includes exemptions for new homes and vacant land.

NDP housing critic MP Jenny Kwan said the government’s inaction is a clear indicator it is going to let the ban expire. 

“If your inclination is to move forward with it then you have to actually plan for that deadline,” she said. 

Kwan said even if foreign buyers were only focused on luxury units, that has a trickle-down impact and the ban should be extended. 

“There are a whole variety of different measures that the government can take to ensure first-time home buyers have a level playing field for them to get access to housing and one of those measures is to extend the foreign home-ownership ban,” she said. 

Conservative housing critic MP Scott Aitchison said the market needs certainty the Liberals are failing to provide, but said his party has always viewed the ban as nothing more than political scapegoating. 

“I don’t think that foreign buyers were really driving prices up. It was really more government charges, fees, and taxes in those high-priced markets,” he said.  He said the ban may be popular, but that doesn’t make it good policy. 

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/liberals-wont-say-if-foreign-homebuyer-ban-will-be-extended-as-renewal-window-narrows/article_8ad12efe-67cb-4985-8c0f-d9c6837dfd97.html

Now Toronto: ‘Girls aren’t being told what pain isn’t normal’: B.C. teen takes endometriosis fight to Parliament

• Elize Nocente launched a parliamentary petition urging governments to introduce mandatory endometriosis education in Canadian schools.
• Nocente says better education would help young people recognize when period pain is not normal and could help close the years-long diagnosis gap for endometriosis.
• The petition calls for funding for a national advisory board to develop educational standards, resources and public awareness campaigns about the disease.
• With more than 500 signatures, it is eligible to be presented in the House of Commons by Vancouver East MP Jenny Kwan after the signature period closes on Oct. 14.
• She says youth should play an active role in politics and advocacy because they understand the issues affecting their generation firsthand.

*Click image or link to read the news story - https://nowtoronto.com/news/bc-teen-endometriosis-parliament-petition-school-education/