Canada set to rethink immigration approach
Expanded family reunification and study, work options are possible
OTTAWA — The Liberals are committing to finding new ways to get refugees to Canada and into other countries as the United Nations seeks nearly half a million spaces for Syrians by the end of 2018.
But Canada did not directly pledge any more spaces Wednesday at a high-level conference in Geneva devoted to finding new solutions for the refugee crisis.
That will come later this year, when the Liberal government intends to unveil a new approach to immigration, moving away from setting levels for a single year in favour of a plan that will cover 2017-19.
“We will continue to pursue solutions to ensure the humanitarian treatment and resettlement of Syrian refugees,” Immigration Minister John McCallum told the conference, which included the UN secretary general, the high commissioner for refugees and representatives of more than 90 countries.
The conference resulted in about 6,000 more spots opening up for Syrians over the coming years, bringing the total to 185,000 worldwide.
Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, called it a “start,” saying he was encouraged by commitments to open up other pathways for legal migration for refugees, such as expanded family reunification programs, labour or study opportunities.
Canada pledged to explore one of those routes — expanding a program that brings refugees in as post-secondary students, so they can continue their education and perhaps settle here.
World University Service of Canada, which runs the program, said this year it was bringing in more than 80 Syrians to study.
“Opportunities for higher education are few and far between for refugees, but such opportunities can play a pivotal role in advancing resettlement and integration efforts,” Chris Eaton, executive director of WUSC said.
McCallum said Canada wants the private sector more engaged in helping Syrians integrate. He said Canada would provide technical training and support to other countries to help them establish programs that will open more spaces for the 4.2 million Syrians fleeing the fiveyear-old civil war.
In an interview ahead of his speech, McCallum said Canada also wants to work with other countries to find a way to get more people out of Syria.
Syrians still inside the country cannot be registered as refugees. The only way they can legally get out is through family reunification or economic immigration programs.
Reaching them would require working with the International Organization for Migration, in places where it is active inside Syria, as well as the co-operation of the Syrian government.
After Geneva, McCallum headed for Germany, one of only a handful of countries in the world with a private sponsorship system like Canada’s.
Germany has offered more than 41,000 spaces for Syrians since 2013. More than 160,000 Syrians made formal claims for asylum there last year. Canada has offered about 38,000 spaces for Syrian refugees since 2013; 581 Syrians sought asylum here last year.
As of March 28, 26,207 Syrian refugees had arrived in Canada since November.