Canadian Government pledges $85M to clear Immigration backlog

OTTAWA - Opposition critics are still skeptical the federal government will be able to quickly plow through the massive backlog in immigration applications after Trudeau's Liberals promised to put $85 million toward that goal.

The pandemic put serious pressure on the immigration system, which was further stressed by the government's efforts to bring Afghan refugees to Canada after their country fell to the Taliban.

The immigration minister has pointed to those two factors as the reasons applications have piled up.

The government's fiscal update shows the government plans to put $85 million toward processing those permanent resident and temporary resident applications in 2022.

"We are adopting a modern, digital immigration system that is welcoming people faster and we are on pace to welcome the most newcomers in Canada’s history this year," Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said in a statement Wednesday.
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