H&C Humanitarian Ground with/or Without Failed refugee claim

[WellWell2021]

Agree that there will be major changes but disagree that most Canadians will oppose these changes. There was a clear mandate to bring immigration back to reasonable levels. The current government is not even being honest about the actual PR numbers this year counting one-time programs so they can say they are reducing the number of PRs accepted in the next 2 years. The H&C program became extremely generous and deviated from its original purpose to be a pathway for truly exceptional cases.

Well h&c have never been generous, it is mainly the effect of social media and of refused asylum seekers speaking out more and more that creates this impression... Without forgetting public policy programs.
Now, we will see what happens with immigration this time. We will soon understand the impact of upcoming decisions on both Canadians and foreign nationals in an increasingly difficult economic and political context.
I am sure that 2026 will mark a turning point in Canada's immigration and political history

 

[canuck78]

Do you have any gossip or news from backstage about what they will do?

No insider info. If you ask any immigration lawyer or consultant who doesn’t just want your money they have a similar consensus that something drastic will happen to general H&C and the most obvious answer is to cull the whole program and start from scratch with much stricter criteria. I have already seen a change of who is getting denied based on JRs.

 

[canuck78]

Well h&c have never been generous, it is mainly the effect of social media and of refused asylum seekers speaking out more and more that creates this impression... Without forgetting public policy programs.
Now, we will see what happens with immigration this time. We will soon understand the impact of upcoming decisions on both Canadians and foreign nationals in an increasingly difficult economic and political context.
I am sure that 2026 will mark a turning point in Canada's immigration and political history

It was much easier to get approved even 1+ years ago. Doesn’t mean approvals were close to 100%. Government also allowed people to keep applying multiple times without removal. We see examples of many parents who got approved a few years ago and similar cases getting denied now. We also see Canadian citizens children being less of an anchor for H&C cases.

 

[Mansteinvon]

No insider info. If you ask any immigration lawyer or consultant who doesn’t just want your money they have a similar consensus that something drastic will happen to general H&C and the most obvious answer is to cull the whole program and start from scratch with much stricter criteria. I have already seen a change of who is getting denied based on JRs.

"
On Section 7 and Ministerial Authority:

• The provision allowing the suspension or cancellation of immigration applications is intended for exceptional circumstances—such as national security threats, public health emergencies, or systemic integrity issues—not for arbitrary or mass cancellations.

" The reply I got from the Mp office ,the liberal one, so I suppose that it will not cull all the H&C applicants in the pool now, or they could be lying, who knows

 

[canuck78]

"
On Section 7 and Ministerial Authority:

• The provision allowing the suspension or cancellation of immigration applications is intended for exceptional circumstances—such as national security threats, public health emergencies, or systemic integrity issues—not for arbitrary or mass cancellations.

" The reply I got from the Mp office ,the liberal one, so I suppose that it will not cull all the H&C applicants in the pool now, or they could be lying, who knows

They would never tell you and they may be unaware of what IRCC is planning. Most MPs have only a basic knowledge of immigration. A program no longer being functional and having a processing time of up to decades is exceptional. We’ll see what happens but would not trust any government official revealing in advance what will happen after bill c-12 or any substantial changes to immigration.

 

[Mansteinvon]

They would never tell you and they may be unaware of what IRCC is planning. A program no longer being functional and having a processing time of up to decades is exceptional.

But if IRCC did cull the program using bill C12, does it mean that this MP is lying ? for example HK pathway also take like forever, they will cull HK pathway too?, I am not sure about it ,as in the reply it mention the new amended bill C12 section 7 included phrase of "such as national security threats, public health emergencies, or systemic integrity issues",but just such as .so I kinda would bet culling of H&C will not take place in 2026, just betting.After all neither you nor me have the position at the decision level in IRCC.

 

[Buletruck]

But if IRCC did cull the program using bill C12, does it mean that this MP is lying ? for example HK pathway also take like forever, they will cull HK pathway too?, I am not sure about it ,as in the reply it mention the new amended bill C12 section 7 included phrase of "such as national security threats, public health emergencies, or systemic integrity issues",but just such as .so I kinda would bet culling of H&C will not take place in 2026, just betting.After all neither you nor me have the position at the decision level in IRCC.

When your program is running out to 10 years and beyond from start to finish, they could simply call it systemic integrity issues....well within what your MP told you.

 

[Nik1983]

They would never tell you and they may be unaware of what IRCC is planning. Most MPs have only a basic knowledge of immigration. A program no longer being functional and having a processing time of up to decades is exceptional.

Hi Canuck, I hope you don't mind if i ask; to what capacity are you speaking so confidently about the culling of H&C? i just want to have some type of genuine info. If you say the MP is not telling the truth or will not spill the actual consequence of Bill C12 at the moment, then your firsthand information would either be from IRCC or the minister. I genuinely want to know. Thanks

 

[WellWell2021]

Hi Canuck, I hope you don't mind if i ask; to what capacity are you speaking so confidently about the culling of H&C? i just want to have some type of genuine info. If you say the MP is not telling the truth or will not spill the actual consequence of Bill C12 at the moment, then your firsthand information would either be from IRCC or the minister. I genuinely want to know. Thanks

The mentally unstable leader and his party, who are leading the United States, will not leave the world alone, especially Canada, which has recently strengthened its diplomatic relations with China. Populism is increasing here, the cost of living is becoming more and more expensive, and more than one million foreign residents will see their permits expire in 2026. Universities have lost millions of dollars because of the reduction of international students, many people who obtained permanent residence or citizenship continue to damage the image of their communities and of recent immigrants through inappropriate behavior and that's what increases frustration toward immigrants, especially among less educated people who often lack nuance...
There is currently a separatist movement in Alberta and in Quebec where the prime minister resigned after his political party la CAQ damaged the province, and a separatist party Le parti Québécois will probably win the next elections, even though the majority of Quebecers do not support Quebec’s independence.
So what is the solution to improve the situation ?? To implement Bill C-12 and remove the humanitarian and compassionate program, even though it represents less than 10% of admitted immigrants.
I think , this is not very logical, but we will see what the coming days will bring...

 

[canuck78]

Hi Canuck, I hope you don't mind if i ask; to what capacity are you speaking so confidently about the culling of H&C? i just want to have some type of genuine info. If you say the MP is not telling the truth or will not spill the actual consequence of Bill C12 at the moment, then your firsthand information would either be from IRCC or the minister. I genuinely want to know. Thanks

It is purely data and history. Also pretty high consensus between the immigration lawyers and consultants I interact with. When immigration programs in the past (as recently as last year) became no longer functional the government decided to cull the program and start all over again. If IRCC was not going to do something dramatic to general H&C they would have allocated a much higher yearly quota to the program which they didn’t. Culling the whole program would be the easiest and the least legally complicated than trying to separate out groups from the existing pool. The pool is so big that even if you tried to separate out certain groups you would still likely be left with a large pool. It will also become more legally complicated for IRCC. The other big sign is the fact that there was very little movement in H&C until around December 2025 when it became clear that bill c-12 was not going to be passed in 2025. IRCC doesn’t always work logically but I see no other way but to start from scratch. Processing times of decades when H&C doesn’t stop removals doesn’t help applicants. We are seeing more people who have applied for H&C being removed. Trying to remain in Canada without status until an H&C case is processed decades from now also not a good option for most people. IRCC also has to make a drastic change to stop adding to the backlog.

 

[canuck78]

The mentally unstable leader and his party, who are leading the United States, will not leave the world alone, especially Canada, which has recently strengthened its diplomatic relations with China. Populism is increasing here, the cost of living is becoming more and more expensive, and more than one million foreign residents will see their permits expire in 2026. Universities have lost millions of dollars because of the reduction of international students, many people who obtained permanent residence or citizenship continue to damage the image of their communities and of recent immigrants through inappropriate behavior and that's what increases frustration toward immigrants, especially among less educated people who often lack nuance...
There is currently a separatist movement in Alberta and in Quebec where the prime minister resigned after his political party la CAQ damaged the province, and a separatist party Le parti Québécois will probably win the next elections, even though the majority of Quebecers do not support Quebec’s independence.
So what is the solution to improve the situation ?? To implement Bill C-12 and remove the humanitarian and compassionate program, even though it represents less than 10% of admitted immigrants.
I think , this is not very logical, but we will see what the coming days will bring...

Bill c-12 will impact more than H&C applicants. Legault had been premier 7 years which is a long time for Quebec. This is just a normal political cycle although he did himself no extra favours in the past 2-3 years. Very normal for an unpopular leader to leave within a year of an election to try to give thru party the time to try to set up new leadership. The US has made Alberta separatist movement less strong. Given the amount of people in Canada and the attempt to reduce PRs yes H&C applicants make a difference. Many will also run out of status so they will be in Canada without the ability to work legally, may not be eligible to attend school, won’t have access to provincial healthcare, etc. that places pressure on many services. We’ll all have to wait and see.

 

[canuck78]

But if IRCC did cull the program using bill C12, does it mean that this MP is lying ? for example HK pathway also take like forever, they will cull HK pathway too?, I am not sure about it ,as in the reply it mention the new amended bill C12 section 7 included phrase of "such as national security threats, public health emergencies, or systemic integrity issues",but just such as .so I kinda would bet culling of H&C will not take place in 2026, just betting.After all neither you nor me have the position at the decision level in IRCC.

The gvt is hoping that many of the HK and Ukranians will qualify for other PR programs or eventually leave. If I was part of these programs I would be learning French, working in fields in demand, etc.