International Law

Canada - "A haven for villains"????

By immlawyer

A critical article in the Economist regarding Canada and its 'lax' abd 'dysfunctional' immigration and refugee policy. The article points at Canadian refugee claimant Ahmed Ressam and the current backlog of 50,000 individuals against whom removal orders are pending:

...all kinds of undesirables are getting into Canada under the country's dysfunctional ?refugee? system. While doing little to save genuine refugees in camps abroad, it has opened the door to queue-jumping economic migrants, big-time crooks and terrorists, as documented in numerous reports (notably from the federal government's security service and auditor-general) over more than 20 years.

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Canada is the easiest country in the developed world in which to obtain refugee status. Most countries accept no more than around 15% of all applicants, whereas Canada accepts more than half. Attracted by an entitlement to the same legal rights and social benefits as for Canadian citizens, some 25,000 asylum-seekers make their way to Canada every year.

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Once in Canada, they know they will be able to stay?and work?there for at least four years, while pursuing their appeals through the courts.

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The article blames the problems on Canada's national political parties - which need to pander to the immigrant heavy votes in key cities such as Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto..and then  ends on an ominous note:

... Although the polls suggest that ordinary Canadians want the abuse to end, there is no political will. As James Bissett, former head of the Canadian immigration service, says: ?It might take a bomb going off here to change this system.?

Full post as published by Canadian Immigration Blawg on February 23, 2008 (boomark / email).