London, Ont., residents applied months ago to bring family from warring Sudan to Canada. They're still waiting

Families in London, Ont., with relatives stuck in war-torn Sudan are calling on Ottawa to urgently speed up the process to bring their family members to safety in Canada.

After spending thousands of dollars on applications for afamily-based humanitarian program that launched in February, the familiessay they've received no information from the federal government onwhen they will be reunited with their loved ones.

In the eight months since,many have had relativesdisplaced. The families saysome of their loved ones have died or been kidnapped by militia while waiting for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to process their applications.

"This is designed to be a humanitarian program. Theseare people fleeing war and they're not in good shape,sowe expect the process to be faster," said London residentDina Hamid, who has spent a total of $3,500in processing fees for her mom, sister and brother.

"The condition keeps worsening in Sudan and we don't have any answers from IRCC,and until now, not a single person has come to Canada."

Hamid'sbrother,Musaab, 36, stayed behind in the capital of Khartoum to protect their house. Last October, he was kidnapped and detained for five months by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Dina said. Her mom and sister managed to flee to Egypt, where they currently reside, she said.

A war broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF on April 15, 2023. Since then, the United Nations estimated in September, more than 10 million people have been internally displaced and nearly 20,000 have died as a direct result of the violence. Other estimatessuggest as many as 150,000 people may have been killed.

Ottawa says it's 'an extremely difficult situation'

The Canadian government opened the humanitarian pathway on Feb.27, 2024, acceptingup to 3,250 applicationsa number advocates argueis too lowgiven the situation's gravity. In May, IRCCreached capacity and stalled the program.

Minimum funds required to sponsor one personis $9,900, plus a processing fee of $635 per adultand $175 per child. Those with a higher income like Hamid, who'sa pharmacist, are only required to pay processing fees if they prove they can financially support family members. IRCChas waived fees for biometrics, right of permanent residence and medical examinations.

An IRCC spokesperson told CBC News in an email on Thursday that as of Oct. 3,allapplicationshave passed a completeness check and have been put into processing. Five applications have been approved, but there haven't yet been any arrivals to Canada from Sudan.

"We empathize that this is an extremely difficult situation," the spokesperson said. "IRCC is prioritizing the processing of temporary and permanent residence applications already in our inventory. This includes individuals who are still in Sudan and those who have fled the country to surrounding regions.

"Permanent resident programs include multiple assessment steps before an application is approved. Processing times vary depending on the details of each application."

IRCC said thatbetween May 2023 and October 2024, more than 6,500 people affected by the conflict in Sudan have been approved to come to Canada as permanent residents outside the humanitarian pathway.Of that, 5,307 people have landed.

The agency saidit continues to process Sudanese applicants in all streams,and expectsapprovals and arrivals in the comingmonths.

'We might be numbers, but we are actual people'

Immigration consultant Samah Mahmoud, who also has family in Sudan, said it's been a tiring wait.

"The community is exhausted because we're going through the mental trauma of warwhile trying to fight our own government here to bringour family tosafety," said Mahmoud.

Earlier this month, Mahmoud met withMinister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller as part of a Sudanese-Canadian advocacy subcommittee that helps inform Ottawa's policy toward the immigration pathway.

She described the discussion as "very disappointing."

"We were promised by the minister's office that people will be here bythe end of this year and latest by next spring, but now, he saysonly a handful of people will be coming this year," she said.

"We were furious at this response becausewe know what they've done for other communities and the response was much faster."

Mahmoud drew comparisons tothe40,000-person capacityfor Afghan refugeesand theunlimited number of emergency visasthat were given to those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

"For them, we might be numbers, but we are actual people and their decisions affect our personal lives," said Mahmoud. "Unfortunately, we don't feel there's enough political will."

Bahga Elyamanihas spent more than $100,000 on applications to bring her stepmother, four siblings and their familiesto Canada. She applied in April, but her elderly father died in a hospital in Egypt, two months ago after his health deteriorated due to constant displacement.

"Going through that journey of displacement was very traumatic,"Elyamani said through a translator, adding she hasn't been able to grieve his death because she's still worried about the rest of her family.

"It's even more difficult because we have pay for their rent and basic needs in Egypt, but we also have our families hereand things in Canada have been expensive aswell, so it's really been a financial struggle."

Mahmoud said Canada's humanitarian program for Sudanis set to reopen next month with priority for Quebec and will accept up to 800 new applications, along with the more than 250 that weren't processed in the previous round.

"These people arequalified individuals who will contribute to our economy," she said. "We are going to take care of our family and be responsible for them. We're not asking the government to do anything other than to allow them to come here as soon as possible."