OTTAWA — Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is kicking off a major overhaul of the country’s refugee system by increasing the number of people Canada accepts from UN-designated refugee camps overseas.
Kenney said Canada is now prepared to accept 2,500 extra refugees selected by the United Nations, bringing its annual total to 14,500 coming from refugee camps and urban slums.
“Millions of people have fled violence and persecution to seek refuge outside their home countries and we would like to do more to provide them with protection in Canada,” Kenney said in a statement.
The government will sponsor 500 of the new places. The other 2000 will be under the Private Sponsorhip of Refugees Program, which allows church and community groups as well as individuals to bring in designated refugees.
Ottawa will also increase funding to resettle this group, adding $9 million a year to an existing budget of $45 million — the first permanent funding increase in a decade.
Kenney said he will follow up the announcement by tabling far-reaching legislation on Tuesday, targeted mainly at people claiming refugee status after they arrive in Canada.
That package aims to speed up the approval system for refugee claimants who come to Canada looking for asylum by efficiently sorting out legitimate refugees from those who are trying to game Canada’s system.
Under the new legislation, refugee claimants would be sorted into two groups — those from democratic countries deemed safe, and those from more dangerous spots.
The safe-country people would be fast-tracked, but would still have access to a full hearing.
Bureaucrats, rather than political appointees, would handle the initial decisions.
And the bill would set up a new, more robust appeals system, allowing those who are turned down to introduce new evidence before they are ejected from Canada.
Kenney wants to get rid of the huge backlog of refugee claimants who often have to wait up to two years before their legal limbo is cleared up. He also wants to close loopholes in the system that allow posers to play the system and stay in Canada for years.
He announced the increase in UN-designated refugees as a way to “balance” the crackdown on refugee claimants within Canada.
“We have been clear that Parliament enacting balanced reforms to our asylum system will be met by more government help for refugees living in desperate circumstances around the world and in urgent need of resettlement,” Kenney said.
Refugee advocates have long urged Ottawa to increase the amount of funding to help settle newcomers to Canada.
The federal government says there are about 10.5 million UN-designated refugees living in camps and urban slums around the world. Canada is responsible for settling about one in 10 of these refugees, and is the world’s second-largest provider of such protection, after the United States.
Ottawa provides government-assisted refugees with enough income to pay for basic food and shelter until refugees become self-sufficient.