Why is the government telling the world that immigrants need not apply?

The Liberals once again questioned the proposed amendments to modernize immigration system during the oral questioning yesterday at the House of Commons.

"Under the current system, any person who wants to come to Canada has the right to apply and to be considered. This is one of the reasons why Canada is such a great country. However, the government wants to deny some people the right to have their application considered, said the opposition leader Mr. Stephane Dione. "Why is the government telling the world that immigrants need not apply?"

There are speculations, however, that the bill will be passed just the same. And when that happens, it could actually expedite the processing period.

On the other hand, the bill will give the Immigration Minister the power to set the limit on the number of applications to be processed annually. The Minister will also have the power to decide which application shall be process quickly, put on hold, or worst, to be returned. This is one of the main reason why The Liberals strongly opposed the proposal.

Ultimately, the purpose of the proposed amendments is to expedite the application process and it could only mean good news for those who have already filed an application as well as for those who haven't filed yet. There is a chance, however, that some applications filed after February 27, 2008 will not be processed. This will depend on the directive of the Immigration Minister.

Again, these are all speculations. Should there be an official update from the Citizenship and Immigration Canada, I'll keep you posted.

Click here to read the official transcript of the debate during the 2nd session of the 39th Parliament on March 31, 2008.