The federal government is about to introduce a humanitarian pathway for 11,000 Colombians, Haitians, and Venezuelans who are seeking asylum in Canada amid the ongoing refugee crisis in the Americas.
The minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship, Marc Miller has officially opened this humanitarian pathway. This has been done with a view to granting permanent residence to Colombian, Haitian, and Venezuelan foreign nationals.
Miller stated that “We shall not allow anyone to compromise our humanitarian tradition, even during the time of war.
Enabling safe, legal entry from refugees into Canada will fulfill that pledge while boosting the nation with the notable benefits that immigrants create, like job creation and economic development.
The applicant must be associated with a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident who is willing to sponsor them and their family to live in Canada for a year.
The federal government claims that this humanitarian route will enable those entering Canada to receive pre-arrival services like the assessment of skill level and referral to a settlement service provider organization. It has also been suggested that immigrants can obtain transitional financial assistance from the Refugee Assistance Program.
“The new humanitarian way offers an option to some of those forced to move northwards in Central America because of political, social, and economic turmoil,” the statement said.
It further stated that “the government will continually be monitoring the progress of the pathway and adjusting as necessary towards these ends.”
Migration applicants should file their applications online while making sure that they attach a signed statutory declaration of Canadian permanent resident or citizen who will be their sponsor.
However, as Quebec opted out of this program, the press release made it compulsory for the applicants to avoid planning to live in the region.
Furthermore, on top of these humanitarian pathways is Canada’s plan to increase its assistance for “capacity-building efforts” across Latin America and the Caribbean, by investing $75 million over six years.
Thirty-nine thousand and two asylum seekers came into Canada last year through unauthorized border crossings, most of them entering the province of Quebec through a mud trail at Roxham Road on the southern side of New York.
In March 2016, Canada and the United States agreed to modify a twenty-two-year-old arrangement, known as the Safe Third Country Agreement, to include areas other than ports where border patrols could be conducted to avoid illegal entrances. On the other hand, Canada also pledged to accept 15,000 refugees by legal entry from Americans.
Nevertheless, after the amendment of the program, the number of refugee claimants actually increased according to data (opens tab) from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
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