Canada's refugee policy questioned after Syrian boy's drowning

The picture ofAlan Kurdi, a Syrianboywhose body washed up on a Turkish beach, has heightened attention toCanada's own contribution to acceptingrefugees fromthat war-torn area and other troubled regions.

Critics say that Canada has historically been able to act rapidly to accept refugees on an urgent basis, but is failing to do so during the current crisis in the Mideast.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper,responding Thursdayto therecent tragedy, repeated a familiar government talking point Canada has the most generous immigration and refugee system in the world, itadmits per capita more people than any other and that hisgovernment has welcomed in total 2.5 million new arrivals.

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Harper is combining immigrants and refugees, however, two different classifications. Canada does accepta lot of economic immigrants, around 165,000 last year. But refugees make up less than 10 per cent of the people accepted into Canada. And thenumber of refugees granted status in Canada is down from over 35,000 in 2005 to roughly 23,000 in 2014.

As for the actualnumber of Syrian refugees who have been pledged and settled in Canada, different figures have been cited.

There's no process in place to accept people on an urgent basis.Lorne Waldman, immigration lawyer

Back in 2013, then immigration minister Jason Kenneypledged that Canada wouldresettle 1,300 Syrian refugeesby the end of 2014.

"The government of Canada is deeply concerned about the crisis in Syria and was ready to respond immediately to those identified by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugeesas being most in need of urgent protection,"Kenney said at the time.

1,300 commitment met in March

According to figures provided by Citizenship and Immigration, the government met its commitment to resettle 1,300 refugeesin mid-March of this year, missing its end of 2014deadline by a few months.

Does Canada do enough for refugees?

9 years ago

Duration 2:37

CBC's Adrienne Arsenault takes a look at the numbers

Of those settled,866 were privately sponsored and 434 were government assisted. The government, according to the figures, had initially targeted 200 for governmentassistance, but actually more than doubled its goal.

Two months before the governmenthad reached its1,300 goal, Immigration Minister Christopher AlexanderannouncedCanada wouldresettle 10,000 more Syrian refugees over the next threeyears in direct responsetothe United Nations Refugee Agency's global appeal to resettle 100,000 refugees worldwide.

Of that 10,000 Syrian refugeecommitment, the government says, so far, it has resettled1,074188 government assisted, 857privately sponsored and 29 blended visa office-referred.

In total, 2,374 Syrian refugees have been resettled in Canada since the Conservativesmade their2013 pledge. And of those,642 (27 per cent) have done so with government assistance, and nearly all the rest with help from private organizations.

In an interview withCBC'sPower & Politics,the immigration minister told host Rosemary Bartonthat government-assisted refugees remain a "huge component" of theprogram.

"We take as much private sponsorship as we can, but we use government assistance for those who are most vulnerable and we will continue to do that." He added, however, that as Canadadid with the Vietnamese boat people, as many private sponsorships as possible are sought, allowingtaxpayer dollars to go further.

Parties make pledges

All the parties havepledged to bring in more refugees in the coming years. Whilecampaigning in MarkhamOnt.,last month, a little over a week after thefederal election campaign had kicked off, Harper announcedthat, if re-elected, his Conservative government would bring in an additional 10,000 refugees from both Syria and Iraq over the next four years. That would be on top of the 10,000 Syrian refugees Alexander pledged to accept earlier this year.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeauhassaid that Canada should resettle 25,000 refugees from Syria as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the NDP said it would get 10,000 Syrian refugees "out of harm's way and to Canada by the end of the year."

Peter Showler, former chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, said thebureaucratic process is delaying the resettlement of refugees. He said that if a Canadian family tried to sponsor a Syrian family it would take about a year and a half before they were able to come to Canada.

Showler said that historicallyCanada has been very good at mass sponsorships.

"We can do that. Canada has the expertise. And this government has decided not to do that."

Showler argued that the governmentshouldbringin10,000 to 20,000 refugees immediately.Canada, he said,has the expertise and capacity to do this by sending over an immigration team andrapidly doing assessments.

For example, during the Kosovo crisis in the late '90s, Showler said, the Canadian governmentsent over an immigration team, andwithin four to five months, 5,000 refugees were brought to Canada.

"There's no process in place to accept people on an urgent basis," said immigration lawyerLorne Waldman.

When there's a real refugee emergency, the government has the option of bringingpeople in under special permits temporary residence permits, Waldman said,

"If youreally want to respond quickly you need a system whereby peoplecan be brought in underpermits," Waldman said."We've done it in the past in response to emergencies.We're not doing it now."