Canada Announces Three New Initiatives To Welcome More Refugees
Canada recently announces three new initiatives to bring in more refugees, building on its reputation as a supporting and welcoming country.
“When others close their doors, we keep them open,” said Marco Mendicino, Canada’s immigration minister.
“That’s why Canada is intensifying its efforts to welcome more refugees. We will keep looking for new ways to support and welcome refugees immigrants because offering refuge to the world’s most vulnerable and unprotected speaks to who we are as Canadians.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada continued to resettle immigrant refugees, one of the few countries in the world to do so.
In the roughly six months ending May 29, Canada welcomed 4,345 applications for permanent residence from pending refugee claimants who worked in Canada’s health sector and provided direct healthcare to patients in Canada during the pandemic.
But the country’s commitment to refugees did not begin with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada Resettled 9,200 Refugees Despite COVID-19 Pandemic In 2020
In 2018, Canada committed to resettling 10,000 immigrant refugees from the Middle East and Africa over the next two years.
And It delivered on that promise despite the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions and other challenges.
Last year, the country welcomed about 9,200 refugees.
On June 18, Canada declared it was going to do more with changes to the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP).
Canada’s immigration department says it working on the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, and planning to increase the number of protected persons allowed to come to Canada.
In a statement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
“the world is facing a refugee crisis”.
“All over the globe, millions are displaced and longing for what most of us take for granted: a safe heaven.”
“As a global leader in protecting those who need it most, Canada welcomed nearly fifty percent of all refugees resettled around the world in 2020.”
IRCC is pleased that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently called Canada “a shining light in a horrible year for refugee resettlement.”
Protected Persons To Have Easier Time Coming To Canada
With that in mind, Canada is pledging to quickly process more refugee claims and increase the number of protected persons whose liberty, safety, and life are immediately threatened, accepted into Canada this year.
“Despite the many challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada’s asylum levels have remained stable.
“We are now building on this success by increasing the number of protected persons we will welcome this year from 23,500 to 45,000.”
“We will also fast-track the processing of applications, meaning that more refugees can quickly become permanent residents and establish roots in their communities,” the IRCC noted in its statement.
Support Services For Private Sponsors Of Refugees
The IRCC is also carrying out measures to improve existing pre- and post-arrival support services for private sponsors of refugees and ensure they can take full advantage of the assistance offered to them.
“As a result of this process, about $3 million over next two years will be invested in supporting nine organizations,” states the IRCC.
In July 2020, Canada will become the second Chair of the Central America and Mexico Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS) support platform.
“Canada will advocate the issue of protection, meaningful participation, and the empowerment of displaced women and girls,” said the IRCC.
“This theme will provide opportunities for Canadian leadership in putting women, girls and those at risk to gender-based violence, including LGBTQ2 communities, at the heart of solutions.”
