The news is unexpected but also understandable, given the country's population pressure from temporary residents. To maintain balance, the immigration system is reducing its targets for permanent residents, and the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) is one of the programs affected by these cuts.
The decision to process only the applications submitted in 2024 and to limit sponsorships to 15,000 is a measure that IRCC justifies by citing system overload.
However, there is another side to this: for many Canadian families, parents and grandparents are not just visitors. They are the ones who help with childcare, create a sense of home, and allow parents to work and build careers. Their absence places a significant burden on working parents, who now have to seek alternatives like hiring nannies, enrolling children in daycare, or even reducing their working hours.
Canada offers an alternative through super visas, but this is more of a temporary solution. Yes, the five-year stay sounds promising, but it cannot replace permanent resident status, which allows loved ones to feel more secure and be part of the community rather than temporary guests.
This restriction will inevitably impact many aspects of life. Stress will increase for working families, and their ability to participate fully in the economy will decline. After all, the system relies on taxes paid by working citizens, and without family support, it becomes harder for them to meet their obligations to the state.
Yes, curbing immigration growth may seem necessary right now. But we must not forget that behind the numbers are real people. People who dream not just of living in Canada but of doing so alongside their loved ones. Perhaps the government should have sought a compromise to support families rather than separate them, as strong families are, after all, the foundation of any prosperous country.
Oleksandra Melnykova, Immigration and Refugee Consultant in Canada.
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