Dr. Johan Kruger is a highly-skilled obstetrician and gynaecologist -- one of only two in the booming B.C. town of Campbell River. His patients, like Jordana Haire, think he's a hero. He helped her overcome fertility problems when other doctors couldn't, and now she's about to have her first child -- a baby boy.

"I got my miracle baby," Haire said. "I brag about (Dr. Kruger) all the time."

But his 1,000 patients may lose him very soon, because Dr. Kruger is fed up with being a non-citizen in Canada.

"It's a hopeless situation. You feel like a needle in a haystack," Dr. Kruger told CTV News.

Dr. Kruger and his family immigrated to Canada from South Africa in 1993, as Permanent Residents. Later, because of a family illness, they returned to South Africa temporarily.

In 2002, he came back to B.C., set up his practice, and applied to get their residency status reinstated. The family has been waiting for those applications to be processed ever since -- stuck in a huge bureaucratic backlog.

"My children aren't allowed to work," and, he added, the family is always hassled at the border. "I'm getting pretty tired of (customs officials) asking where are you from? Where did you go? Why did you go? How long have you been here? Are you sure? I mean, come on. I've been in Canada for years and I'm being asked these questions?"

Dr. Kruger has now been offered a prestigious job in Australia -- a country which has also promised his family quick citizenship. He's ready to pack his bags and say goodbye to Canada for good.

"There is a position waiting for me. They are getting a little frustrated with me not giving them a final answer," said Dr. Kruger. "I will feel sorry for the patients if I leave."

"I would be angry," said Haire. "Because I think our community and Vancouver Island would lose a huge service."

His case if far from unusual. Dr. Kruger is only one of 581,763 permanent resident applicants -- more than a half million people -- considered "economic class," caught in the growing backlog of applications Ottawa calls "inventory." They are the professionals, business people and other skilled workers Canada really needs. Many are abroad, others are in Canada. Some of them have been waiting years for approval to settle here.

"I think the government should be fast tracking applications where there is a definite advantage to Canada," said Peter Ferreira, a Toronto immigration consultant, who hears the frustration over the backlog all the time.

"While some people might think that one should be prepared to wait up to seven years to become a Canadian resident, I don't think Canada is benefitting as a result."

Ferreira estimates one third of his clients -- the most coveted professionals -- simply give up and go elsewhere.

"There's an economic cost to this. There are jobs that need to be filled that aren't being filled," Ferreira told CTV News.

The Conservatives were highly critical of the former government over the same backlog -- but it has only grown since the Harper government came to power. CTV News asked Monte Solberg what he is going to do about cases like Dr. Kruger's, now that he is the Immigration Minister. Solberg responded that he needs more time.

"We think we have some ideas on that but we are not quite prepared to talk about it publicly yet. But, we know it's a serious issue," he told CTV News.

Solberg's department responded to letters from Dr. Kruger, by telling him his application is being held up by a security check.

"Our records indicate that the processing of your application is pending completion of a review of your security check results by officers at Canada Border Services Agency," the letter states.

"Once the officers are in a position to complete the review, the findings will be forwarded to visa officers and the processing of your application will resume. Although I am unable to provide a specific time frame for your case to be finalized, please be assured that officers are making every effort to conclude the processing of your application as quickly as circumstances permit."

When CTV News asked Dr. Kruger whether he could possibly be a security threat to Canada, he chuckled.

"You should probably ask my wife if I'm a security threat. Ask my kids."

Regardless of what the hold up is -- or if there ever is a solution -- it's quite possible Dr. Kruger won't wait here any longer to find out.

"You just keep on banging your head," he said. "I mean, then you don't feel needed, do you?"

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