Ottawa, September 5, 2013 — Canada's Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander today released the following statement:
“Our government continues to look at all reasonable options to make Canada's already generous immigration system even more flexible, fast and fair. To that end, I am pleased to announce another common sense move to cut wait times for newcomers who are committed to contributing to Canada's long-term growth and prosperity.
“The application process has, for too long, been bogged down by persons who unnecessarily delay the process for everyone else by not taking the process seriously.
“We are committed to ensuring that those who play by the rules and work in good faith to become Canadian citizens will not have to wait in line behind people who fail to attend their citizenship test or interview, or who fail to submit a residence questionnaire.
“We remain committed to eliminating backlogs and continuing to enhance the value of Canadian citizenship.”
For further information (media only), please contact:
Alexis Pavlich
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-954-1064
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
