This petition focuses to draw the attention of appropriate authorities to help facilitate the action of Local Visa Offices such as Etobicoke to make a quicker progress on the applications that have faced long delays. It is unfair to the applicants of Express Entry supported by PNP to face delays due to "COVID-19" while other streams like CEC are given a priority over others for fastrack processing.

What makes it even more unjust is the applications are not being processed and prioritized on the bases of the date received but the category they are received under. The inland express entry candidates' applications under PNP should be given the same priority as other express entry streams.

Some general problems being faced by all the applicants at Local Visa Office of Etobicoke include but are not limited to:

1. Applications being stuck at one stage and not moving for months and months while other offices are completing cases faster.
2. Lack of response to the raised webforms leaving applicants in a limbo.
3. Lack of clarity on processing timeline pushing the goals of applicants futher into the future.
4. Lack of importance shown toward PNP Express Entry applicants who have already been approved by provincial governments. PNP applications undergo a great scrutiny and verification process. It should not have been segregated and sent to such visa offices causing more delay. Its not fair to those who have already been in Canada since last 3-5 plus years.

Such instances are creating issues for these applicants. These issues are personal to each applicant and vary but most of them face some common challenges like:

1. Not being able to meet their families as most of the applicants have their applications gone beyond the stated timeline of 6 months. The relentless wait for the approval or the outcome of the applications are keeping families apart.
2. Applicants who want to pursue further education are being forced to wait and postpone their enrolment into the universities or colleges semester after semester. This is hindering such applicants in advancing in their careers and leading a better life. Some student status spouses of those who are the principal applicants in Express Entry who have faced delays beyond their expectations and reasonability are being forced to pay a higher tuition fee while they wait.
3. Applicants are facing the unjust anxiety of maintaining their status by having to apply for permits even when they had applied for Permanent Residency way before the expiry of their current work permits. This is expensive, adds additional steps and causes more stress to complete the documentation for such permits.

These applicants have stayed in Canada for quite a few years now, contributed to the economy by paying their taxes and high tuition fees when they had been a student. They deserve some peace of mind and some assurance that their efforts are not going unnoticed. Some of these applicants who have kids have a different set of problems to deal with. Not only they themselves are suffering but its also coming down to their kids and families. 

The voice of these applicants is knocking the doors of the Canadian authorities like the honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino and IRCC to streamline the process of obtaining permanent residency for those who have left their families, their home, contributing both financial and human resourses to Canada, making it their home. These applicants have come to Canada with big dreams and the motivation to work hard towards a better future. What's stopping them from achieving more has nothing to do with them but the delays caused by local visa offices like Etobicoke.

The applicants urge that their problems are looked at and dealt with in a timely fashion so as to keep them motivated to keep on contributing more to the great nation of Canada.