Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - July 2009
Further to the recent “crack-down” on refugee claimants, the Government has announced a new rule regarding refugee entry from the United Stated.
The new rule stipulates that refugee claimants from Zimbabwe, Haiti, Afghanistan, The Dominican Republic of the Congo and Iraq will be turned away if they attempt to enter Canada from inside the U.S. It is part of a joint agreement between Canada and the U.S. which requires refugees to “seek protection in whichever of the two countries they land first.”
“It is important that we don’t create a two-tier immigration system,” said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney upon announcing the change. “One tier for immigrants who wait patiently in line to come to Canada, frequently for years; and another tier for those who jump the queue and make refugee claims in Canada after they’ve already had the opportunity to do so in a safe, democratic country.”
At the same time, the Government announced that deportations to Rwanda, Liberia and Burundi, which had been suspended, will be reinstated immediately. The move is expected to affect approximately 2,000 people currently in Canada. A government spokesperson says that the decision was “due to improved conditions” in these countries.
These changes comes merely weeks after the reinstatement of visa requirements for all Mexican and Czech visitors to Canada, which were touted by the Government as another attempt to discourage the trend toward illegitimate refugee claims.
Source: Vancouver Sun
