The U.S. travel ban could mean more asylum seekers claiming refugee status in Canada but new figures show they’d be in for a long wait; the Immigration and Refugee Board says a massive backlog has left tens of thousands in legal limbo.
Refugee claimants rose from 14,000 in 2014 to just over 23,600 in 2016, a 69 per cent increase. That figure does not include Syrian refugees who arrived in Canada and saw their claims fast-tracked.
The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada acknowledges that the rate of refugee intake has risen since 2013 and "currently exceeds the operational capacity."
In 2012, the federal government introduced a law imposing a two-month time limit to close cases, but cases can be extended if there is a regulatory exception or if the board simply lacks the ability to handle all the cases.
From 2015 to 2016, the number of hearings not held within their scheduled timelines jumped from 27.4 per cent to 41.75 per cent.
In the first five months of this year, an average of 49.75 per cent of hearings have not been held within their scheduled timelines, compared to 47.25 per cent for the same period in 2016.
On average, refugees are waiting 5.6 months – two months more than the wait time in 2013 – with many decrying the holding pattern they’re being held in.
Martine Kasongo, a journalist from Africa who fled to Canada and made a refugee claim in 2012, says she has waited five years and has yet to have her case heard.
"We are just waiting and waiting," she told CTV News, adding that she wasn’t able to bring her son with her, leaving him to grow up in Africa.
Razak Iyal, one of two men who lost fingers and toes to frostbite while illegally crossing in to Canada on Christmas Eve in 2016, had his first hearing in December cancelled.
It wasn’t until May that his hearing went ahead and he was accepted in June.
Iyal said the experience has been "nerve-wracking."
"I thank God that I've been accepted to stay in Canada, to be a Canadian. And what I have in me, I'll make sure I share it with the community, with the people," he told The Canadian Press after he was granted refugee status.
Advocates say with the implementation of the United States’ travel ban on six Muslim-majority countries, the number of claims could rise even faster.
The situation is leading to more stress on refugees, one Montreal-based immigration lawyer says.
"I think it’s an enormous amount of stress if you face the possibility of being deported to a home country where you’re liable to be tortured," said Stephanie Valois.
The IRB says it is working on a fast-track process for Syrians, Iraqis and Eritreans and is putting certain claims to a shorter hearing process, allowing the board to fit more cases on their schedule and resolve claims faster.
The board also argues that wait times have dropped since pre-2012, which used to see an average processing time of refugee claims at 22 months.
However, advocates argue the government should put up the money to show refugees are welcome in the country.
With a report from CTV’s Montreal Bureau Chief Genevieve Beauchemin
