Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he's pushing Canada's immigration system to soften its approach to processing visa applications and put less focus on the risk of visitors overstaying their short-term visas.
"The system — I'll be honest — is still based around, 'Prove to me that you won't stay if you come,' right?" he said, arguing that it is easier for applicants to "convince" immigration officials to grant them visas if they have "a good job and a home and a house and a good status back home."
Trudeau responded that it is vital for Canadians to have faith in the integrity of their immigration system. But he also suggested that he had asked Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to take a less defensive posture when issuing visas. Trudeau added that the federal immigration system is challenged by Canada's need to fill labour gaps and by numerous crises abroad that are causing people to flee their homes.
"There's a labour shortage in the construction industry and building houses. So as we bring in more people who can build houses, we will solve some of the housing shortage," said Trudeau. Canada's visa denials and processing delays have made global headlines in the past year, with citizens of developing countries finding themselves unable to attend global conferences hosted in Canadian cities.
Data updated Tuesday show that visa applications take an average of 217 days to process for people based in Britain. It's 212 days for people in France.