Achi news desk-
The Liberal government is proposing changes to Canada’s asylum claim system that could speed up the deportation process for rejected applicants from the country.
The proposed amendments were quietly announced two weeks ago in the 2024 federal budget and come as Canada deals with a record number of asylum seekers.
“Budget 2024 also proposes to introduce changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to streamline the claims process to support quicker decisions and quicker movement,” it reads.
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Immigration Minister Marc Miller’s office would not provide additional information to Global News, with his press secretary Bahoz Dara Aziz citing “parliamentary privilege.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) also did not provide clarity, instead issuing a statement that was very similar to what was in the budget.
The IRCC says the new measures will “improve the efficiency of the asylum system without compromising fairness or compassion towards those in need of protection.”
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“Whenever lawyers hear the government say the word ‘simplify’ or make things more efficient, we always know that people’s rights are about to be sacrificed on the altar of administrative efficiency,” said the immigration and refugee lawyer, Chantal Desloges, in an interview with Global News.
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“The government is very tight-lipped about what they actually intend to change, which also makes me a little nervous,” added Desloges.
Since March this year, 46,736 people have applied for asylum in Canada, according to the IRB. That’s a 62 percent increase from the same period in 2023, while the backlog is 186,000, according to the agency.
An increase in temporary immigration has also been linked in part to Canada’s housing crisis. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that the situation needed to be brought “under control,” saying that temporary immigration “has grown at a rate far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb .”
As the number of applicants increases, so do waiting times for asylum seekers.
Cases can take years to be heard by the IRB.
How hard is it to get rid of people?
The Canada Border Services Agency has struggled to get rid of applicants whose claims have been refused or withdrawn.
As of this February, the CBSA issued more than 28,000 “active warrants” to “failed refugee claimants.”
“As a country we need to invest in the process of deciding refugees so that they have a fair chance to have their case [and] their fear was understood and a decision was made,” said immigration and refugee lawyer Warren Creates.
“Those who fail, whose cases are rejected, should be removed. I think justice demands that.”
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Ottawa has pledged $743.5 million over five years to the CBSA, the IRCC and the IRB to try to deal with the backlog of 186,000 asylum claims. More than 141,000 were filed last year alone.
“The IRB has the resources to handle 50,000 admission claims a year,” Creates said. “They have no resources for the 140,000 who came last year. … to tread water, they need to triple their budgets and their award.”
The proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act are part of a series of new measures announced by Ottawa.
The immigration minister has reinstated the visa requirement for Mexican nationals, introduced a cap on international students, and more recently reduced the amount they can work to 24 hours a week.
So far, Miller has ruled out changing the asylum criteria that could make it harder for claimants to stay in Canada.
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The post Ottawa to propose new asylum rules to allow faster deportations appeared first on Canada News Media.
