‘Extremely frustrated with the system’

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This article was published 22/08/2022 (1284 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — A Pinawa man says federal bureaucrats have left him in a catch-22, putting his tax credits in jeopardy because his American wife has waited 16 months for Ottawa to issue a work permit.

“I am just extremely frustrated with the system,” said Bob Sandul.

“I just find it really funny that everything seems to be so slow, and then all of a sudden they want to know her income.”

Sandul reunited with his high-school sweetheart after 20 years apart. They dated for five years as teens in Minnesota, and then for nine years as adults before getting married in January 2019. The couple splits their time between Pinawa and Roseau, Minn., to help raise their children from separate former relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic kept them apart for a year until the border opened with a two-week quarantine requirement.

Sandul’s wife April has been living in Manitoba since April 2021 via a series of six-month tourist stays.

The couple applied for her permanent residency by paper that spring, but the Immigration Department returned it, noting some minor errors. It was suggested they instead submit the corrected application through the new online portal, which they did last November.

At that time, they also applied for a work permit under a program that allows spouses of Canadians awaiting a green card to gain an income.

“There was just a mountain of paperwork, about everything they need to know about her, me, our dead parents — everything,” Bob said.

Nine months later, they are still waiting.

In the midst of Manitoba’s labour shortage, April has had a handful of job offers that she has had to decline, despite her experience supervising children and as a pharmacy technician and emergency dispatcher.

“It’s really hard, because I’ve been on my own with my kids for so long I don’t have an income coming in and I am someone that wants to work, and have had jobs since I was 14,” she said.

She spends her days cooking and cleaning, repairing furniture and gardening. The couple are in their early 50s and have no desire to retire.

“I’m willing to work, and we’re doing everything right,” she said.

“We’re not going beneath the table and getting money.”

That has left Sandul to claim his spouse as a dependent, prompting the Canada Revenue Agency to ask him to report her American income from 2020 and early 2021.

In separate letters, Ottawa told him he may get reduced GST tax credits and a smaller Canada Child Benefit, or have some amount clawed back due to having a higher household income.

The department confirmed that the income of two spouses living together is used to assess benefits, even if that income was earned abroad.

“If their spouse is a newcomer to Canada, the CRA will use the spouse’s or common law partner’s world income as a part of the adjusted family net income to calculate the benefits and credits,” a spokesperson wrote.

“The CRA is here to work with taxpayers to ensure that they get the benefits to which they are entitled, and that they are able to meet their tax obligations.”

Sandul says that’s left him supporting his wife financially and stressing out over rising living costs. At least once a week, they check her application online and find it’s still in processing.

“My bank account is slowly being eaten away,” he said, adding he has asked the department to at least give a rough sense of what his budget might look like.

“It takes them forever to just even give you notice, but if you owe them, they want it right away.”

The Immigration Department says current processing times for in-Canada family sponsorship is 15 months, up from the target of one year, adding that incomplete or inaccurate information can delay processing.

“We are aware that certain applicants have experienced considerable wait times with the processing of their applications,” wrote spokeswoman Sofica Lukianenko.

“Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is working towards processing applications for permanent residence expeditiously, while conducting all verifications required.”

She said her department has increased staff and digitized more services.

“IRCC has taken quick action and come a long way since the onset of the pandemic: providing additional resources where they are needed most, streamlining our processes and ramping back up.”

In three weeks, the couple will make yet another short trip across the border to renew April’s short-term stay in Canada.

Sandul, who has American citizenship, is tempted to quit his job as a heavy-equipment operator and move stateside.

The couple have friends who have gotten spousal work permits and permanent residency faster during the pandemic, leaving April to feel singled out.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca