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."
An investigation by Quebec's human rights commission into the death of a seven-year-old girl in Granby, Que., has identified failures at all stages of the clinical and legal process designed to protect her.
Canada's rules for detaining foreigners who can't be deported quickly are constitutional, the Federal Court of Appeal has found, rejecting an argument there should be time limits for detention in immigration cases like there are for criminal trials.
Vancouver police are seeking witnesses to an assault last week on the city's Downtown Eastside, saying the details could be critical to what is now a homicide investigation.
Peter Rakobowchuk, a journalist with Canada's national news agency whose high energy delivery was instantly recognizable to decades of listeners, has died.
A woman who calls herself a "death midwife" has been banned from using the title after a lengthy legal battle launched by the College of Midwives of British Columbia.
