Only one account. There has been no suggestion that bill c-12 or an amended version of it would impact protected people or refugees that are already in Canada and have applied for PR. The long processing times may lead to people deciding to abandon their asylum or PR claims on their own. This has already happened. It will likely impact asylum seekers and general H&C applicants. They are 2 of the most problematic programs when it comes to backlogs and applications with no grounds. The start-up visa program is another non-functional program in it’s current state along with some of the caregiving programs. The allocation of quotas may be changed within the economic pathways but don’t believe most of the economic pathways are targets of c-12 or will be greatly impacted by c-12 or any amended version. The bigger issue is there are millions of temporary residents or people without status in Canada that have no pathway to PR. Not only do programs like general H&C and asylum seekers need to be addressed there is a need for a bill like c-12 to prevent people with no other pathway to PR from filing asylum claims to try to extend their stay in Canada. The asylum system is very expensive and already facing long processing times so the government doesn’t want to make the issue even worse. H&C claims do not prevent removal but there are also concerns that people will also file H&C claims to try to extend their time in Canada. Although most changes in laws tend to be prospective that is not the case with bill c-12. Also why we are likely to see another bill since some of the tools were watered down from bill c-2 to c-12. Because we are in a minority government another party tends to be able to give input on a bill in order to get it passed. The amendments will likely look different depending on what party is involved and is willing to pass the bill with the Liberals. The conservative base wants their MPs to pass stronger immigration control while the conservative government also doesn’t want to be seen to be supporting the liberals too much. NDP wants a softer approach and to avoid an election. Minority government politics are very interesting.
