James Metcalfe – Pace Immigration: The Super Visa program has been operating for more than a year and from what I have heard most people are happy with it. The government has answered the call of persons in Canada who wish to have their parents “visit” Canada; there are limited delays in the program, and there does not seem to be a hue and cry from any segment of the immigrant community that the program is discriminatory. Some may decry the program because it does not allow for the inclusion of siblings, but that is another issue.

We have been hearing rumors that parental sponsorships could resume later this year. Details, however, are sketchy.

There still remains a large backlog of old applications left to be processed. I believe that any new program will be very restrictive, with limitations on who can be sponsored. In many foreign jurisdictions, the object of sponsoring parents has not been to bring parents to Canada, but to bring the accompanying siblings to Canada. Parents in this situation became known as “courier parents,” who had no intention of remaining in Canada, but did their duty to see their children come to Canada.

The Minister will have to walk a thin line to satisfy all the aspirations of Canada’s diverse immigrant communities. It could become a political issue in a future federal election in ridings with strong concentrations of some ethnic communities.