Families frustrated after immigration website shuts down in minutes

Nataliya Bukhanova knew that the speed of her typing might change her mother's life. 

But she never got a chance to try. 

The Dartmouth woman was one of more than 100,000 Canadians hoping to be reunited with overseas parents and grandparents, who attempted to apply for one of the coveted 20,000 spots that Canada opens each January. 

For the past two years Canada has used a lottery system to accept applications, but this year it switched to a "first come, first serve" website system. 

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Bukhanova was at her computer at the hour the application website opened, ready to submit her information at exactly 1 p.m. AT on Jan. 28. The form didn't appear, so she began to refresh the page every 10 seconds. 

It was like trying to buy concert tickets to her family's future. 

"After seven minutes — because I tracked the time — after seven minutes I got the message 'We received maximum amount of applications, so we closed the form until next year,'" she said.

At first she didn't know how she would break the news to her 67-year-old mother in Russia. 

Tatiana Bukhanova has asthma, lives alone, and has no close relatives in Russia, so her daughter sees the application as her best chance to take care of her mother as she ages.

Nataliya Bukhanova, who is a Canadian citizen, has tried for three years to submit an application, each time without success. 

"It was really bad," she said. "I hoped so much to send this request. Just the first step. And I didn't have a single chance to do it. I realized I had to wait until next year."

She feels the system has gone from bad to worse. 

"I think it's not first come, first serve. It is who the system lets in."

No technical issues: government

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada there was nothing wrong with the website. 

Mathieu Genest, the press secretary to the minister, wrote in a statement to CBC the department did "extensive testing" for the volume of applications, and put "anti-bot features" in place to make sure all the submissions were legitimate. Genest says there were no technical issues on the day. 

"We understand that those who were not able to make a submission are disappointed," Genest wrote, while also noting that IRCC has raised the number of applications from 5,000 in 2015 to 20,000. 

"Making sure families can be reunited with their loved ones is a pillar of our immigration policy."

Families like Bukhanova's have said the website system should change but Genest said it is "too early to speculate on any future program or policy changes." 

The search for the right system

Halifax immigration lawyer Elizabeth Wozniak has watched the system change from a paper first-come-first-serve system, to an online lottery, to the current system, which she believes is still not working well. 

"I think it should be a more open system. It shouldn't depend on your internet connectivity," she said. 

"It's hard to say what it should look like, but what it is right now is not working. It's not working for people, it's not fair. And it doesn't seem like it's a good long-term solution. They've now changed it three times over the past five or so years." 

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She believes the federal government should open more spots in the program due to the overwhelming demand. 

Wozniak says in her own office, she and her staff were helping about 20 families through the application process last month. Only one of those families was able to successfully apply. 

'It's how families are supposed to be'

Nataliya Bukhanova is now hoping to make an application on humanitarian and compassionate grounds since her mother is alone in Russia. 

When Bukhanova thinks of the concept of "family," she thinks of parents, grandparents, grandchildren, and extended family members all together. 

This is the typical view in Russia, she says, and she is prepared to fully support her mother if her application is accepted and approved. Under family sponsorship rules, each sponsor provides proof of income and commits to fully supporting their parent for 20 years.

"Because she's my mom and I will take care of her, I will take care of her health. So it's not a burden to the system. It's how families are supposed to be — to take care of each other," she says.