Trudeau says Canada needs a 'pathway' to official status for immigrants, faster deportations

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says some immigrants to Canada who lack official status need a pathway to help them stay, while in other cases Ottawa must speed up deportation procedures.

His comments come as advocates for gender and sexual minorities say the lack of a regularization program is leaving people without official status in Canada subject to exploitation.

«People who aren't here regularly need to be supported and taken care of,» Trudeau told reporters Friday in Winnipeg.

«There needs to be either a pathway towards regularization and citizenship, which I know the (immigration) minister is working on. In some cases, we need to accelerate deportation proceedings.»

The Liberals pledged in late 2021 to «explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities.» Trudeau said he had no timeline for when this will actually be put into effect.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada defines undocumented people as those who have overstayed a temporary visa, remained in Canada following a rejected asylum claim, or arrived in Canada without contacting authorities.

The office of Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Friday he is on track to present a proposal to his fellow cabinet ministers before Parliament rises for its summer break next month.

«There's a balance in making sure that the integrity of our immigration system holds,» Trudeau said.

«That's one of the reasons why Canadians are, unlike so many other countries in the world, continuing to be positive towards immigration — because our immigration system is rigorous.»

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says there is no accurate count of how many undocumented immigrants live in Canada, though it notes academic