OTTAWA -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees arrives in Canada this weekend for what his agency had hoped would be a chance to applaud Canada's decision to take in a higher number of refugees next year.

But the plan released this week by the federal government proposes no increase in the number of refugees Canada will accept through the UN in 2018.

That's despite the refugee agency's repeated call for nations to take in more of the 1.2 million people it has identified as being in need of resettlement next year.

Canada's plan was met with disappointment by refugee advocates who accuse the Liberals of seeking to privatize the country's commitments to refugees.

The number of privately sponsored refugees is set to increase, but advocacy groups also point out there is a massive backlog of cases in that program.

Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen has pledged to clear that over the next two years, saying the government likes the private program because it both saves them money and has better integration outcomes.