The struggle of Canadian citizens and residents sponsoring their non-Canadian spouses to become permanent residents inspired a local production team to film The Backlog: life doesn’t wait, a documentary that focuses on the increase of processing times of the Inland Spousal Sponsorship stream under the administration of Minister Chris Alexander.
Couples in limbo, surviving on a single income and holding their lives on pause are part of this story: Canadians who married foreign spouses are punished in a 27-month long process, supporting their families in a single income and living a life in pause, where they have no power over their own life. Sponsored spouses who can’t work, study, access healthcare or visit their family abroad make sacrifices such as postponing plans to have kids, slowing down their integration to the Canadian society through working and studying and not visiting family members abroad, regardless of their health situation.
On the other hand, the film also explores the consequences of delays and errors in several immigration streams in the country: how the best immigrants turn to countries with faster processing times such as Australia and New Zealand, how Canadian companies suffering from lack of qualified staff can’t get timely solutions to their needs, and how the economy suffers from a decrease in tax contribution of households awaiting decision in the Inland Sponsorship stream.
The documentary, to be premiered in September, 2015, and released online in January, 2016, will present a complete view of the current challenges faced by applicants under the Inland Spousal Sponsorship stream, as well as other immigration and Citizenship categories. The teaser is already available on YouTube and Vimeo.
The team will interview applicants, experts in immigration, economy and social affairs, politicians and government officers upon availability. So far, no representatives from CIC were willing to offer on-camera interviews or provide accurate answers to questions regarding the current backlog.
The Backlog is currently seeking funding through an Indiegogo campaign. The goal is to start shooting in May and edit throughout the following months for an exclusive premiere and other festival appearances in September.
On The Backlog blog, the team not only keeps readers up to date with the progress of this project. This space is also a tribune for research in the subject of immigration in Canada, featuring extensive blog posts with documented sources about the recent increases in processing times for immigration and Citizenship, and why these affect not only applicants but the whole country.
Contact information:
Harold Lopez-Garroz
Director
Angie Rodriguez
Online marketing
Links of interest:
Indiegogo campaign: www.indiegogo.com
Teaser on YouTube: www.youtube.com
Teaser on Vimeo: vimeo.com
Facebook page: facebook.com/thebacklogdoc
Twitter profile: twitter.com/thebacklogdoc
Blog: thebacklogdoc.blogspot.com
Photos of first day of shooting in Ottawa available here.
