Dai v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)
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The Facts
Ms. Dai applied for permanent residence under the Home Child Care Provider pilot on January 1, 2023. By mid-2026 she had been waiting roughly 42 months, and IRCC's own online processing tool still projected about another 39 months, which would have put the total wait past six and a half years. IRCC pointed to new Ministerial Instructions that had changed the framework for the caregiver program, and she asked the Federal Court for mandamus, an order compelling a decision.
What the Court Decided
Justice Battista granted the application and ordered IRCC to make a final decision on the application within 60 days. The Court treated the Ministerial Instructions as an explanation that has to be examined, not an automatic excuse: a delay that results from a change in policy is not necessarily reasonable where it leaves applicants waiting with no clear framework or end point. A processing-time estimate on a website was not a real justification for why this particular file remained undecided.
Does This Affect You?
- ✓You applied under a caregiver pathway and the application has been pending well beyond published processing times.
- ✓IRCC attributes the delay to a change in program rules or Ministerial Instructions.
- ✓You are considering mandamus to compel a decision on a long-delayed permanent residence file.
Key Takeaways
- A policy change can explain a delay, but it does not excuse open-ended waiting without a workable process.
- The Court looks at whether IRCC's explanation is meaningful for the file, not just whether some explanation was offered.
- A successful mandamus order compels a decision within a set time; it does not decide whether the application is approved.