Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Online Parents And Grandparents-Sponsor Application Discriminatory, Immigration Lawyers Say

Darpan News Des The Canadian Press, 29 Jan, 2019 07:00 PM

    OTTAWA — A new first-come-first-served online application for immigrants seeking to sponsor their parents and grandparents to come to Canada is being condemned as "profoundly discriminatory" after the program opened and closed in less than 10 minutes on Monday.


    All 27,000 openings for the family-reunification program in 2019 were spoken for within minutes of the application form's going live online Monday, sparking outcry from disappointed would-be applicants.


    Matthew Genest, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, says an initial analysis shows no technical problems with the system.


    He says anti-bot features were also used to ensure all applications were legitimate and not from automated computer programs grabbing spots faster than humans could.


    Genest says with over 100,000 people competing for 27,000 spots, there was simply more demand than there were spaces.


    But immigration lawyer Clifford McCarten is among many now raising concern about the fairness of access to the program, as only those with reliable Internet access, quick typing skills and good understanding of English or French would have had any hope of success.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Golden Eagle Theft: Insurance Company Fighting Payout For Diamond-Studded Statue

    A major insurance company is fighting back after a British Columbia court required it to make good on a policy covering a gold, diamond-encrusted eagle statue allegedly stolen in Metro Vancouver more than two years ago.

    Golden Eagle Theft: Insurance Company Fighting Payout For Diamond-Studded Statue

    Garry Handlen's Confession To 12-Year-Old's Murder Was A Lie: Defence Lawyer

    "They're coming for you," the undercover officer told Handlen in November 2014, about nine months into a so-called Mr. Big sting in Minden, Ont.

    Garry Handlen's Confession To 12-Year-Old's Murder Was A Lie: Defence Lawyer

    Man Facing Hate Charge Told To Stay Away From Jewish Schools, Synagogues

    Man Facing Hate Charge Told To Stay Away From Jewish Schools, Synagogues
    Robert Gosselin made a brief court appearance at which the conditions were officially added.

    Man Facing Hate Charge Told To Stay Away From Jewish Schools, Synagogues

    RCMP Planning To Enforce Court Injunction Over Anti-LNG Pipeline Protest In B.C.

    RCMP Planning To Enforce Court Injunction Over Anti-LNG Pipeline Protest In B.C.
    Members of the Gidimt'en clan of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation have set up a camp and a checkpoint in the area, southwest of Houston.

    RCMP Planning To Enforce Court Injunction Over Anti-LNG Pipeline Protest In B.C.

    Boy, 8, From Nanaimo, B.C., Killed While Riding Bicycle

    Boy, 8, From Nanaimo, B.C., Killed While Riding Bicycle
    NANAIMO, B.C. — An eight-year-old boy has been killed in a collision with a pickup truck while riding his bicycle in Nanaimo, B.C.    

    Boy, 8, From Nanaimo, B.C., Killed While Riding Bicycle

    Mounties Say Four People Died In Separate B.C. Highway Crashes Since Friday

    Mounties Say Four People Died In Separate B.C. Highway Crashes Since Friday
    VANCOUVER — Mounties say four people have died in separate crashes since Friday on British Columbia highways.

    Mounties Say Four People Died In Separate B.C. Highway Crashes Since Friday