Advocates say Canada’s refugee resettlement goals unrealistic

Good depiction of some of the challenges with a great closing line:

Tom Denton with Hospitality House Refugee Ministry, a pioneer in the resettlement of refugees in Canada, said the paperwork demand for refugees has soared since the Kosovars came here.

“The system has become far more complex. Biometrics are required. Medical examinations are required. Security clearances are required.

“If they want to bring in 25,000 in short order, it would require some very fresh thinking,” he said of the Liberals.

“The [Department of Citizenship and Immigration] is so tied up in its own paperwork they would somehow to have to find a way to bypass all of that stuff in order to bring in numbers like this quickly.”

He predicted the Liberals will push back the Jan. 1 deadline. “I have a feeling they’re going to give themselves some wiggle room to bring the 25,000 in over a longer period of time.”

Mr. Denton said the civil servants who drove the refugee effort of the boat people in the late 1970s “had a rescuing mentality.” He said: “They were bent on rescuing people – to hell with the paperwork.” And while he says the immigration officials are just as motivated today, there’s “systemic constipation in the system.”

Source: Advocates say Canada’s refugee resettlement goals unrealistic – The Globe and Mail