Indians to benefit from Canada's family reunification programme
Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 Jul, 2021 04:31 PM
A record number of 40,000 immigrant families will be allowed to sponsor their parents and grandparents to bring them to Canada in 2021.
This means 30,000 additional applications will be accepted as against the annual intake of 10,000 under the Parents and Grandparents Programme (PGP), which is aimed at family reunification.
Since Indo-Canadians are one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, they will be the major beneficiaries of the programme.
Applications can be submitted online over a two-week period, starting September 20.
Using the random selection process, those whose applications are accepted would be allowed to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada.
Since the sponsors have to show a certain minimum income requirement, the Canadian government has allowed them to include state benefits received during the Covid lockdown towards their income. This will ensure that applicants are not penalised for lost income during the pandemic.
Unveiling the programme, Canadian Immigration Minister Marco E.L. Mendicino said, "The importance of family has never been clearer than during the pandemic. That is why we are delivering on our commitment to help more families reunite in Canada.
"By strengthening the Parents and Grandparents Programme, inviting a record number of sponsors to apply, and by adjusting our requirements to adapt to the current times, we are once again proving our commitment to helping Canadian families stay together, and thrive together."
The Public Health Agency of Canada says people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can have dinner together inside someone's house without having to keep their distance or wear a mask.
The man who killed a 13-year-old girl and injured her friend at a high school in Abbotsford, B.C., has been asked to read the victim impact statements related to his crime before he addresses the court.
Temperatures into the 40s are expected for many parts of B.C., as the weather office says an exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure has parked over the province and likely won't budge until after Canada Day.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says this Canada Day should be a time of reflection. His comments come the day after a First Nation in Saskatchewan announced ground-penetrating radar had detected what are believed to be 751 unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school.
Dr. Ash Singhal of B.C. Children's Hospital said it's also the provincial government's responsibility to change the building code so windows in homes can't be opened enough for young children to tumble out.
Mounties arrested 10 more protesters Thursday as they continued to enforce an injunction against blockades near old-growth forest logging areas west of Victoria. RCMP say all the arrests were made at an encampment in the Braden Mainline Forest Service Road area near Port Renfrew, B.C.
