Will tighter family reunification rules actually save taxpayers money?
While some would argue that Canada has gone to great lengths to unite families in the past, those day are gone, it seems.
The federal government is making it harder for Canadian families to bring their parents and grandparents from abroad. Those seeking to bring older family members to settle in Canada will need to have higher incomes and agree to financially support their extended families for much longer.
The new rules will increase the minimum income requirement for sponsoring a parent or grandparent by 30%, double the sponsorship undertaking period from ten to twenty years, and reduce the maximum age of a dependent to 18.
They'll also have to agree to cover any welfare or health-care costs not covered by medicare for parents or grandparents for 20 years, instead of the current 10-year committment.