These migrants escaped war and disaster to come to Canada. Should they go home or be offered permanent residence? It’s not that simple

Good call for greater care and transparency regarding these programs, including consideration of likely impact should these groups not be able to return:

…Seeking clear criteria for humanitarian programs

Ninette Kelley, chair of the World Refugee and Migration Council, said temporary humanitarian programs have a place but require very clear criteria and a limited time frame. Sometimes there could be benefits if Canada can quickly admit more people at risk on temporary status than it would under slower and more modest permanent resettlement.

She said each of these special programs should be independently evaluated. While Canada can’t take in everyone, she said the intake levels earmarked for humanitarian migrants should be open for debate.

“Government immigration programs change so frequently and not in a transparent manner,” said Kelley. “We could continue in a humanitarian tradition by accepting more than we do, but we should be careful and transparent about how we arrive at those numbers, who we assist, how we process them, and what kind of status they’re afforded, which is not happening at the present.”

The Immigration Department began developing a “crisis response framework” since 2023 to better anticipate, respond to and manage international crises, though little is known about it publicly.

In a statement, the department said the framework has been “formalized” since early 2025 and is meant to be a set of tools and guidelines that helps officials proactively assess emerging situations, determine an appropriate and feasible response, and carry it out from start to finish.

“Any potential new measures would be carefully assessed to balance humanitarian needs against available levels space and existing program capacity,” it said, underlying the need to be more proactive, better co-ordinate with key partners, and align with immigration levels plans and “domestic welcoming capacity.”

Source: These migrants escaped war and disaster to come to Canada. Should they go home or be offered permanent residence? It’s not that simple