Photo credit: Get in Canada
The federal government is cutting the number of spots available in its refugee, humanitarian and permanent residency streams.
CTV News reports that the updated immigration levels plan released this week shows 49,000 spaces available for refugees seeking permanent residency in 2016, down from about 58,000 this year.
The Canadian Council for Refugees notes that the federal budget also includes a one-time initiative to grant permanent residency to an additional 115,000 protected individuals who are already in the country.
Gauri Sreenivasan, co-executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, said they see the new levels plan as a “mixed result” for refugees, between this one-time program and the overall cut.
She said, “We have almost 150,000 refugees in the backlog waiting for that signal that Canada is their permanent home, waiting for the opportunity to bring their families. And so this measure as a special recognition in a sense of the backlog waiting.
“At the same time, that was embedded in an announcement that overall continues to shrink the share of our immigration levels that are dedicated to the humanitarian component of Canada’s immigration system.”
Data from Immigration Minister Lena Drab’s transition binder says the government planned to admit 5,300 permanent residents through Hong Kong, Ukraine and Sudan programs in 2026.
