Overseas processing

1. The international community issued a call for action following the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) held in 2001 in Durban, South Africa and the Government of Canada presented Canada’s Action Plan Against Racism in 2005;
2. Examples of concerns include significant delays in the processing of cases in Sub Saharan African countries. Applicants face some of the longest waiting times and one of the highest rate of refusals, and the total quota of refugees accepted from the region is far lower than the extent of need identified by the UNHCR and NGOs. The recent announcement of a quota system for Quebec will reduce only the number of arrivals from Africa;
3. This is clear evidence of systemic racism experienced by individuals of African origin across all categories of refugee protection and immigration.

1. Visa officers appear to be refusing an increasing number of privately sponsored refugee applicants;
2. There is no appeal from such refusals except by way of judicial review which few applicants are aware of or resourced to pursue;
3. Canada Immigration National Headquarters staff have indicated no more exact figure than that between 40% and 60% of privately sponsored refugees are refused;

1. Some countries interpret the Refugee Convention in a narrow and technical manner denying effective protection to refugees;
2. Canadian visa officers sometimes show too much deference to the decisions of tribunals of other countries which have refused refugee claims which under the Canadian interpretation of the Convention would be accepted;
3. Canada's visa offices are inconsistent in their efforts to establish meaningful channels of communication with local and Canadian NGOs involved in resettlement;
4. Canada has failed to put in place meaningful review of negative decisions despite a refusal rate significantly higher than other resettlement countries;
5. Applicants for resettlement from some countries are deported from those countries despite having applications for resettlement to Canada pending, particularly in light of the frequent long processing times for such applications;

1. The Canadian Council for Refugees has promoted the involvement of NGOs in the identification of refugees overseas;
2. Citizenship and Immigration Canada`s refugee resettlement model proposes the involvement of NGOs as overseas service partners;

delays cause anxiety and instability for refugees and their families;

There is no consistently applied government policy priorizing refugee processing, the decision being left to individual officers at the posts;

1. Africa continues to be a source of refugees and international migration as a result of internal conflicts and political instabilities;
2. The Canadian Government has classified a number of African countries as ‘Source Countries' of refugees;
3. Refugees from these countries are not benefiting from such classification due to logistical and bureaucratic challenges;
4. The International Region of CIC has not developed any strategic plan to deal with the protection and resettlement of refugees from African Source Countries;

1. The Government, in the context of private refugee sponsorship, claims to be committed to the principle of additionality;
2. Visa post staffing was drastically cut in the mid 90s;
3. The overseas processing time for refugees is disgracefully long. (Departmental informants tell us that currently, from the time the completed IMM8s are received at the visa post until the interview takes place is 21 months in Nairobi and 36 months in Damascus.)
4. The overseas delays make it increasingly difficult to sustain the interest of sponsors in the private sponsorship program;
5. The Government is committed to move toward annual immigration targets of 1% of the population of Canada;

1. There is a long, 2-3 year backlog of privately sponsored refugee applications.
2. CCR adopted Res. 13, May 02 on long processing times.
3. All government-assisted refugees (GARs) are now referred by the UNHCR (other than in source countries) and CCR has repeatedly been told that there are limited visa office resources.

1. Overseas processing targets are inadequate, as reported in the “No Faster Way?” and “More than a Nightmare” documents, to meet demand in the family reunification and refugee sponsorship queues;
2. Canada has an obligation to respond to the legitimate needs of Canadians, including its refugee sponsorship community and its separated families.