Canadian immigration to fast-track 'safe' applicants

August 13 2009 by Matt Jones

Canada Immigration Minister Kenny treads carefully

A new proposal regarding Canadian immigration is expected to fast-track people making a visa application from countries that are generally deemed 'safe' by the government.

In an attempt to speed up the laborious and lengthy process that is Canadian immigration, the Conservative party are pushing for a reform to make the Canada visa system more similar to the UK's.

The reform, if passed, will change the system so that visa applicants from countries that are generally deemed “safe” will be able to enter the county much more quickly. This will free up resources to allow other applicants to also have their visa application judged more quickly.

The reform will allow immigration officers to make a judgement on the claims instead of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney would not comment on the details of what the reform would include, but he did describe the fast-track proposal.

He said the fast-track reform is: “One dominant idea that has been proposed that I think is worth consideration. The reality is there's been, for good reason, a great deal of caution from successive governments about this issue.”

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