OTTAWA — A permanent residency sponsorship exemption for some refugees was allowed to expire earlier this month due to unspecified “potential integrity concerns,” an Immigration Department spokesperson said in an email. Three years ago, a memo drafted for the immigration minister said the exemption policy posed a “minimal risk” to program integrity. The Canadian Press has asked the government what has changed since then, and whether applicants were misusing the exemption, but has not yet received a response. The temporary policy, which was introduced in 2019 and ended on Sept. 10, allowed certain refugees to sponsor family members who were not initially declared on their own applications. Those family members could include children who were not born when the initial application was made. Advocates said the policy also was used by LGBTQ+ refugees to sponsor partners in countries where those relationships are criminalized. The now-expired policy was last extended in September 2023, after the memo to the minister was drafted. That memo also said there had been about 2,000 applications under the policy and about 90 per cent had been approved. All permanent resident applicants are required to give the government a list of family members for security and medical screening purposes — even if those family members aren’t coming to Canada. Permanent residents are barred from sponsoring family members who were not initially listed. In an email sent by an Immigration Department spokesperson Friday — after The Canadian Press first reported on the policy change — the government said exemptions can still be granted on humanitarian or compassionate grounds. The current wait time for humanitarian and compassionate applications is estimated at more than 10 years on the government’s online portal. Jamie Liew is a University of Ottawa law professor who co-authored a 2017 study that contributed to the creation of the now cancelled exemption policy. She called the government’s stated reasoning “extremely vague.” “There are two things that concern me about this. First, is there evidence or data that shows that there is a misuse of this program? And secondly, (humanitarian and compassionate applications) are basically non-functional,” Liew said. “Our research is very clear, even before the increase in the wait times, but now it is virtually impossible to bring people through a (humanitarian and compassionate) application.” Refugee advocates were informed of the policy’s end on Sept. 9 but were given no explanation. The Canadian Council for Refugees sent a letter to Immigration Minister Lena Diab last week asking her to restore the policy. Gauri Sreenivasan, co-executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, said in an emailed response that the organization worked with the Immigration Department for years to bring in the expired policy. She said the exemption addressed “a clear and present danger for refugee children and families.” “If there were any issues to resolve with the temporary policy, we are and would have been ready to engage on those for longer-term solutions,” she said. “As it stands, the decision to rescind the policy suddenly and go back to relying on (the humanitarian and compassionate claim process) to resolve issues, given its known inaccessibility, is a poor and cruel choice that we know will hurt many families. There is a better way forward and it starts with consultation.” The government spokesperson said the department will continue to monitor the effect of the change and encouraged all permanent resident applicants “to declare their family members, which is the best way to prevent lengthy or permanent family separation.” Liew said an applicant might not list family members for a number of legitimate reasons. In some cases, she said, applicants from strife-torn regions may not be aware that their children are still alive when they make their application. They also may lack literacy skills or be forced to rely on a translator, she added. Liew warned the increasing embrace of digital automation in Immigration Department systems will lead to more refugee families being kept apart. “The form is meant to be a gateway for inquiry and assessment. And then to punish people for that seems really, really unreasonable and harsh,” Liew said. David Baxter, The Canadian Press
