OTTAWA, October 30, 2003 -- Today, the Honourable Denis Coderre, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, is pleased to announce important new developments in the Department's on-line electronic Client Application Status (e-CAS) service.The e-CAS service is an on-line tool that allows clients to view the status of their immigration applications 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It was first implemented for family class, sponsorship and permanent resident applications. With the addition of the new features, CIC clients in Canada and abroad will now be able to use e-CAS to check the status oftheir permanent resident card application,their application for Canadian citizenship, andtheir application for proof of Canadian citizenship."E-CAS is convenient, fast and easy to use," said Minister Coderre. "I encourage our on-line clients to take advantage of the new features to check the status of their applications."Through its Government On-Line (GOL) initiative, the Government of Canada has committed to making Canada the most connected nation of the world by 2005."At Citizenship and Immigration Canada, we are continually working to improve client service and reach our GOL objectives," said Minister Coderre. "With these new improvements to e-CAS, we will be able to serve a much greater number of clients on-line."Since it was first implemented in April 2002, e-CAS has provided 2.5 million clients with information on their application status. At the end of the third week of service, the improved e-CAS service had delivered such information to an additional 3,400 clients.To view the on-line e-CAS service, visit the CIC Web site at www.cic.gc.ca, select "on-line services," and then "e-Client Application Status."-30-For more information (media only):Sarah BainPress SecretaryOffice of the Minister(613) 954-1064Susan ScarlettMedia RelationsCommunications Branch(613) 941-7035
