Canadian Immigration Minister Mark Miller said that a federal program granting undocumented immigrants the right to stay in Canada will not come anytime soon as discussions continue in the cabinet regarding the plan, which is strongly opposed by some of his colleagues.

Miller presented the proposal, which would allow rejected asylum seekers and former international students with expired study permits to apply to stay in Canada, to the cabinet before MPs started their summer break.

Miller stated in an interview that no conclusion has yet been reached on offering a comprehensive "regularization" program for immigrants who have been in Canada for several years, and discussions among ministers are ongoing.

In the same context, the Prime Minister issued a mandate to former Immigration Minister Sean Fraser in 2021 asking him to "continue exploring ways to regularize the status of undocumented workers contributing to Canadian communities."

A decision from the cabinet is expected this spring.

But Miller said that the program "is not something that will be put forward soon," adding that polls show Canadians are divided on the issue.

Miller emphasized that the proposed program is often misunderstood and that it "will not cover all groups of people currently here who do not have their papers."

He clarified that allowing undocumented parents of children born in Canada to stay "will put them on equal footing with their Canadian children."

Miller added that Canadians are divided on this issue, with some myths circulating about the proposal, including equating the regularization program with "jumping the queue" by people who do not have the right to be here.

In the same context, Mr. Hassan, spokesperson for the Migrant Rights Network, stated that people in Canada without status cannot open a bank account, obtain a credit card, or buy a car on credit.

He predicted that they would pump billions into the economy and start buying cars and refrigerators if they obtained the required paperwork.

He expressed disappointment over the lack of a timely decision on the regularization program and warned that it needs to be implemented before the general elections, by next October.