Skip to main content
Skip to CBC accessibility page
CBC.CAMENU
Open news menu
"
McCallum sending more staff to Jordan and Lebanon to boost refugee intake
Scaling back immigration officers in Jordan and Lebanon led to dramatic slowdown of refugee intake
Stephanie Levitz · The Canadian Press
April 7, 2016
Mideast Lebanon Canada Refugees
Canadian Minister of Immigration John McCallum, right, speaks with a Syrian family inside their tent, during his visit to a refugee camp in the southern town of Ghaziyeh, near the port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Friday, Dec. 18, 2015. (Bilal Hussein/Associated Press)
450 shares
Additional staff are being sent back to Canadian visa offices in the Middle East for faster processing of Syrian refugees, part of a Liberal promise to bring 10,000 privately sponsored Syrians to Canada by early next year.
Sponsorship groups have given Immigration Minister John McCallum and other Liberal MPs an earful in recent weeks after efforts to resettle Syrians were scaled back following the end of the government's program to get 25,000 to Canada by the end of February.
Staffing cuts and limits on applications meant people who had raised money, rented apartments and amassed clothes, furniture and volunteers would likely not meet their refugees until well into next year.
Refugee sponsors in Collingwood get good news, frustration remains
McCallum promise to boost private sponsorship spawns confusion
Refugee sponsors frustrated by delays hold 'emergency meeting'
McCallum responded to some of those concerns last week, saying the 10,000 people whose applications were in by March 31 would be in Canada by the end of this year or early in 2017.
That prompted groups to scramble to submit as many files as possible before the deadline.
The commitment to extra staff proves the government is serious about meeting the commitment, said McCallum, adding that he will reveal more details next week about how the government plans to accelerate the process.
"Given that we're at capacity, there's a limit to how much we can do, even though I would really like it if we could accommodate fully all the generosity coming from Canadian families," he said in an interview.
Private sponsors urge quick action
Among those still frustrated is former Toronto mayor John Sewell, who met Thursday with McCallum and has become a spokesperson for several private sponsorship groups in that city.
"This kind of outpouring of goodwill doesn't happen all the time and it's something we really should take advantage of," Sewell said.
The original decision to place limits on the Syrian program was made in part because the Liberals have promised to bring down wait times for other refugees and immigrants; it currently takes about six years to sponsor a refugee from Africa.
Sewell said he agrees that's an important goal.
"But it doesn't mean you stop the Syrians," he said.
Sewell said his group wants any Syrians already matched with Canadian groups brought here by the end of the month.
In a separate email to CBC News Thursday, Sewell said McCallum seemed to agree with the idea of prioritizing refugee families that have already been matched with private sponsor groups in Canada.
McCallum said he didn't agree to a specific timeline, but it makes sense to first speed up the applications that nearly complete and address the people whose files have been approved but who've yet to travel to Canada.
According to the Immigration Department's website, there are 2,697 Syrians whose files have been approved but they have not yet travelled to Canada, though McCallum said there were 1,500 just waiting for flights.
At the high point of the Liberal program to resettle 25,000 people, there were more than 500 staff in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey interviewing, screening and signing off on hundreds of applicants a day. Government-organized flights were also arriving daily in Toronto and Montreal with hundreds of refugees on board.
In the last week, about 200 applications were approved and six Syrian refugees landed in Canada, according to the department's website.
with files from Susana Mas
Report Typo
POPULAR IN NEWS
1 2038 reading now
FAMILY OF ABDUCTED CALGARY GIRL TALIYAH LEIGH MARSMAN MAKES TEARFUL PLEA FOR 5-YEAR-OLD'S RETURN
2 1049 reading now
FAMILY OF ABDUCTED CALGARY GIRL TALIYAH LEIGH MARSMAN MAKES TEARFUL PLEA FOR 5-YEAR-OLD'S RETURN
3 942 reading now
FORGET THE 'FARCE' BLUSTER, CHINA RECEIVED THE TRIBUNAL RULING IT DREADED
4 897 reading now
ROAD RAGE ATTACK LEAVES WINNIPEG WOMAN INJURED AND TRAUMATIZED
5 565 reading now
SIGNS OF PROGRESS IN CANADA POST LABOUR DISPUTE, EXPERTS SAY
More On This Story
McCallum promise to boost privately sponsored Syrian refugees spawns confusion
APR 3
Syrian refugee sponsors upset with slowing pace of arrivals
MAR 29
John McCallum touts education, integration at UN refugee conference
MAR 30
Refugee sponsors frustrated by delays hold 'emergency meeting'
APR 3
Liberals shift immigration focus to family reunification, refugee resettlement
MAR 8
Syrian refugee application backlog frustrates Nova Scotia groups
DAVID IRISH • MAR 29
External Links
Citizenship and Immigration: Syrian refugees
More from CBC News
Updated
'We love her, we miss her, and we want her back': Abducted Calgary girl's family tearfully urges her return
41 M AGO
New
Tony Clement teases supporters with Twitter leadership preview
JOHN PAUL TASKER • 39 M AGO
Ottawa's Anglican Diocese rejects Synod vote, will permit same-sex marriage
JAMIE LONG • 1 H AGO
Return to negotiating table a positive sign for Canada Post labour strife
NICOLE RIVA • 1 H AGO
States of emergency declared in Arborfield and Carrot River, Sask.
31 M AGO
New
2016 shaping up to be deadly year for motorcyclists, OPP reports
29 M AGO
Tell us what you think
Learn about our redesign project opens new window
Share your thoughts here opens new window
Explore CBC
CBC Home
TV
Radio
News
Sports
Music
Arts
Kids
Local
Documentaries
Comedy
Books
Parents
Aboriginal
CBC Connects
Digital Archives
Games
Contests
Site Map
Stay Connected
Apps
RSS
Podcasts
Newsletters & Alerts
Services and Information
Corporate Info
Public Appearances
Commercial Services
Reuse & Permission
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
CBC Shop
Help
Contact Us
Jobs
Doing Business with Us
Renting Facilities
CBCCBC gem logoRadio-Canada
©2016 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved
Visitez Radio-Canada.ca
to wake up every morning without your love by your side.
