The federal government recently settled two lawsuits targeting an online application for family sponsorship.

The government launched a first-come-first serve system early this year offering 20,000 spots for family members abroad. The applications were only available for nine minutes after they went live and an estimated 100,000 people attempted to access the process.

However, two separate lawsuits were launched from Toronto and Vancouver which claimed that the online application system was unfair and it disadvantaged people with disabilities or slow internet connections.

According to sources, the federal government decided to settle with the claimants instead of pursuing a legal battle. 70 sponsorship spots were awarded to those involved in the lawsuit so that they can sponsor their family members abroad.

The first-come-first-serve system was brought in by the Liberal government to replace the former lottery system being utilized by the Harper government.

According to Minister of Immigration Ahmed Hussen, the system is currently under review.