The so-called "once-in-a-lifetime" bill that would have let Canadians sponsor a family member to come to Canada and boost immigration levels in this country has been defeated in the House of Commons. The private member's bill, C-436, would have amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to allow for a one-time-only sponsorship of a relative who would not otherwise be eligible under the family class sponsorship rules. "It's a major disappointment to see this bill go down," said Winnipeg North Centre MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis. "Our population isn't growing. It would've been an important boost to the province." Currently, a spouse or partner, a dependent child under 22, a parent or grandparent, or a brother, sister, niece, nephew or grandchild under 18 may be sponsored. Under the killed bill, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident could sponsor a relative from the following list: a brother or sister of any age; a first cousin; an aunt or uncle; a son or daughter over the age of 22; and a niece or nephew of any age. The private member's bill was initiated by Vancouver East MP Libby Davies and was co-sponsored by Winnipeg's NDP MPs, Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre) and Wasylycia-Leis. "It's particularly disconcerting that in our own community Rey Pagtakhan (Liberal -- Winnipeg North-St. Paul) didn't support it," said Wasylycia-Leis, who vowed to make it an election issue. Winnipeg South MP Reg Alcock also voted against the bill on Thursday, she said. Pagtakhan said he didn't vote for the bill because it wasn't workable. "I know she meant well, but I think it's ill-conceived," said Pagtakhan, who immigrated from the Philippines in 1972. All Canadian citizens and permanent residents would have been eligible to sponsor a relative under the bill, Pagtakhan said. Even if a small percentage of Canadians took advantage of the bill, the rush of newcomers would overwhelm the federal immigration system and provincial support services, he said. "Would we have the resources?" he asked. Provincially, housing, health and education services where the new immigrants settled would also be strained, said Pagtakhan. Cities like Vancouver and Toronto, where most of Canada's newcomers go, would be hard-pressed to absorb them, he said. Pagtakhan said it didn't make sense to give the bill a second reading without having consulted the provinces or having a plan in place to settle the influx of immigrants. He said Canada is on target to meet its immigration goal of 245,000 immigrants this year. "As much as it would've offered great opportunity for people who wanted to sponsor a family member, there'd be a problem in having no control over how many are coming," a spokeswoman for Alcock in Ottawa said. "It would've made an extreme burden," she said. "Despite a new Liberal administration, there is no new vision on immigration," said Wasylycia-Leis. "There is a growing skills shortage, and we're not going to replenish our own population. By 2011, our only growth will be from immigrants," she said. "We're not talking about added costs and added burden. We're talking about reducing costs and reducing burden. Families come together and support one another."
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