Canada could resettle some rejected African asylum seekers

Canada is one of the countries expected to resettle African asylum seekers turned away from Israel, but it remains to be seen whether the Liberal government will increase the number of refugees from the area who were already destined to arrive here.

Israel is scrapping its controversial plan to deport thousands of migrants and refugees — mainly from Eritrea and Sudan — after reaching a deal with the United Nations to send more than 16,000 of them to other countries, which could include Canada, the United States and European nations.

The agreement removes the threat of forced expulsion of about 39,000 people to unidentified African destinations, widely believed to be Rwanda and Uganda, with deportation set to begin April 1.

The deal includes plans to integrate and give legal status to those who will remain in Israel.

A spokesman for Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen says Canada is currently focusing its efforts on clearing the backlog of roughly 1,800 Eritrean and Sudanese refugees in Israel who are already expected to be resettled here through the private sponsorship program.

In February, the federal government reached a deal with Israel not to deport any asylum seekers bound for Canada and increased its resources to processing those applications through its office in Tel Aviv.

Jean-nicolas Beuze, the UN refugee agency’s representative in Canada, says discussions are ongoing with countries that could resettle asylum seekers.