The Government of Canada has proposed changes to the refugee asylum application system, which could expedite the deportation process for rejected applicants.
Canada is currently in the midst of a record number of asylum seekers, and two weeks ago, in the 2024 federal budget, the federal government quietly announced a proposed amendment.
"Budget 2024 also proposes changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to streamline the application process to support faster decision-making and faster deportations," the text reads. ”
However, the details have not been revealed, and the office of Immigration Minister Mark Miller has not provided more information.
Immigration and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) also did not provide a clear statement, but issued a statement that closely resembled the contents of the budget.
The Department said the new measures would "improve the efficiency of the asylum system without compromising fairness or compassion for those in need of protection." ”
In an interview with Global News, immigration and refugee lawyer Chantal Desloges said, "Whenever lawyers hear the government say the word 'streamline' or efficiency, we always know that people's rights are about to be sacrificed on the altar of administrative efficiency." ”
"The government is tight-lipped about what they plan to actually change, and it also makes me a little nervous," De Rogers added.
According to Immigration and Citizenship Canada (IRB), 46,736 refugees have applied for asylum in Canada since March this year.
According to the IRB agency, this is a 62% increase from the same period in 2023, while Canada currently has a backlog of 186,000 refugee applications.
The increase in temporary immigration is also partly related to Canada's housing crisis.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that the situation needed to be "under control" and said that temporary immigration "is growing far beyond Canada's capacity to admit it".
As the number of refugee claimants has surged, so have the waiting times for asylum seekers.
Cases can be processed by the IRB and can take years.
As of February of this year, the Canada Border Agency (CBSA) has issued more than 28,000 "valid arrest warrants" for "failed refugee claimants."
"As a country, we need to allocate funds to the screening process for refugees so that they have a fair chance to have their cases and fears understood and decided," said Warren Creates, an immigration and refugee lawyer. ”
"Those who have failed, those whose cases have been dismissed, should be cleared as justice needs to do so. ”
In particular, a $743.5 million grant over five years has been committed to the CBSA, IRCC and IRB to address the backlog of 186,000 refugee asylum applications, with more than 141,000 refugees applying for asylum last year alone.
"The IRB has the resources to process 50,000 applications a year," says Creates. "They don't have enough resources to deal with last year's 140,000 refugees...... They need to triple the budget and adjudication. ”
The proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act are part of a series of new measures announced by the federal government.
The Minister of Immigration reinstated visa requirements for Mexican nationals, capped the number of student visas and recently reduced their working hours to 24 hours per week.
However, Immigration Secretary Miller ruled out the possibility of changing the criteria for refugee claims, refusing to change the criteria to make it more difficult for applicants to stay in Canada.