MONTREAL -- Some Montrealers who are cut off from their spouses are calling for an overhaul of Quebec's immigration process, saying the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the system to an agonizing crawl.

“It's a horrible feeling, not knowing when we'll be together again,” said Roxane Walsh, whose husband is in the Dominican Republic. “It's standing in the way of our plans for the future.”

On Saturday, demonstrators gathered for the latest protest outside Immigration Canada's offices. They said that despite months of calls for change, the department hasn't adapted to the pandemic. As one example, they point to a refusal to switch to doing interviews over video chat, rather than in-person.

“There are people who are in queue to do an interview to be able to complete their permanent residency application, but unfortunately a lot of those interviews have been put off and put off and put off,” said Bilanka Pia.

Sergio Ocampo, who has applied to sponsor his wife Lili, currently in Nicaragua, said he has yet to receive any news after a year-and-a-half.

“I understand COVID is slowing down everything but honestly, there's so many ways that they can do this to speed up the process,” he said.

Pia accused the federal government of profiling and discriminating against people from some developing countries.

“This whole process is completely financially draining, it's stressful,” she said.

Immigration Canada did not respond to a request for comment.