Earlier in the year, Kenney spoke of a “wide-scale and almost systematic abuse” of Canada’s generous refugee system, so this decision may not come as a surprise to some. Nonetheless, Canada has received much criticism over the new plan, stemming mostly from Czech and Mexican representatives and citizens who were directly affected.
Seen as an unfriendly move, many believe that Canada sparked a “visa war” that could negatively affect trade relations with the European Union in the future, as well as Mexico, which is a NAFTA partner. Regardless, both Czech Republic and Mexico quickly retaliated by requiring Canadian diplomats to obtain visas before entering their countries.
In light of this backlash, Kenney asserts that most of the refugee claims to Canada are made by Czech and Mexican nationals, with the number of applicants continually rising.
Refugee claims from Mexico have actually tripled over a three-year period, starting with roughly 3,400 made in 2005 to 9,400 in 2008. Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) completed only 5,646 of the Mexican applications in 2008, while only 606 or 11% were actually accepted. With about 3,000 claims made by Czechs since October 2007, Kenney has stated that more than half of these are abandoned or withdrawn before a final decision is made, indicating that many may not even be genuine pleas for protection.
Kenney feels that introducing this new visa requirement will help the IRB differentiate between legitimate claims and those made with the purpose of bypassing Canada’s extensive immigration progress. Particularly, the new policy would help lower the volume of claims from these countries, which it has, in hopes that only serious claims would surface.
As Canada’s refugee system has received much criticism in the past for being vulnerable to abuse, it seems as though Kenney is attempting to reform the laws and re-establish some foreground. This point is reinforced by the announcement of a second change to refugee policy that was made on July 23rd by Kenney, which will result in roughly 5,000 refugee claimants from the U.S. being turned away from Canada’s borders each year.
Those claimants entering Canada from the U.S. who originate from Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe will essentially be refused and sent back across the border.
Also, the suspension of deportations to Burundi, Liberia and Rwanda was put to an end, meaning that unless visitors from these countries have settled their status within the country in six months, there is a possibility of removal. This could prove to affect roughly 2,000 people.
Executive Director for the Canadian Council of Refugees, Janet Dench, completely disagrees with the changes Kenney has made thus far, stating: “There was once a certain openness in Canada, and in the last few weeks, the government [began] turning its back on the best traditions we have to offer.”
In his attempt to take the heat off of Canada, Prime Minister Harper has expressed his views regarding the situation, stating that there are problems with our refugee laws to the point that the current system actually encourages bogus claims and this “can’t continue”.
It’s hard to say whether or not Harper’s position will dictate the future of Canada’s refugee system. However, in reforming such a sensitive structure, the government must consider Canada’s image and relations with other countries and the fact that influential refugee lobbyists like Dench will be on the frontline protesting changes every step of the way, just as they’ve done in the past.