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441-00953 (Citizenship and immigration)

Paper petition

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

WHEREAS:

  • The backlog in processing refugees is huge and growing at Canadian embassies around the world;
  • Dublin Street United Church, Guelph Ontario, has 7 co-sponsorship applications {ROC-O} which have been approved and have been sitting in limbo for 6 to 30 months with no indication of progress;
  • Other sponsors across Canada are in similar situations;
  • Many of the refugee families are in squalid and dangerous camps; and
  • Canada's reputation of welcoming refugees is unravelling.

We, the undersigned as members of Dublin Street United Church, Guelph Ontario, and as citizens and residents of Ontario call upon the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to immediately intervene to greatly alleviate the backlog so Canadian sponsors can welcome many more refugees.

Response by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Marie-France Lalonde, M.P.

Canada is committed to its humanitarian tradition and commitment of protecting the world’s most vulnerable people. Canada is the second largest resettlement country in the world, and has resettled almost 700,000 refugees since 1959.

Despite an increased number of challenges to refugee resettlement during the COVID-19 pandemic, resettlement to Canada for the most vulnerable refugees continued. We successfully resettled over 9,000 refugees in 2020 and more than 20,000 in 2021. However, continued high program demand and pandemic-related travel restrictions have contributed to significant growth in the privately sponsored refugee (PSR) application inventory in recent years.

The continued generosity and compassion of Canadians in welcoming refugee newcomers to Canada in itself presents a unique challenge, as there is no limit on the number of Group of 5 or Constituent Group sponsorship applications submitted annually. As the number of refugees resettled each year is set in Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan, when the number of applications submitted by sponsors is significantly higher than the admissions permitted in the levels plan, this has a direct impact in extending processing times, which are calculated from the application received date and do not reflect the duration of active processing. To accommodate the demand of generous Canadian sponsors, PSR levels are expected to be 28,250 in 2025.

We understand processing times are a major concern for sponsors as well as for the refugees that they are trying to bring to safety. The Department is working to implement program efficiencies to address long wait times and support more consistent processing times. This systemic approach includes the development of new policy instruments to manage application intake, and development of new technologies and tools to increase processing efficiencies. Work on these initiatives is currently underway, with some already implemented. Throughout this process, we are engaging key program stakeholders, such as Sponsorship Agreement Holders, and the Canadian Council for Refugees, to help shape new processes.

Presented to the House of Commons
Lloyd Longfield (Guelph)
December 13, 2022 (Petition No. 441-00953)
Government response tabled
January 30, 2023
Photo - Lloyd Longfield
Guelph
Liberal Caucus
Ontario

148 signatures

Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.