By Deborah Gyapong

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney

"I will never forget 1,918 nights, going to sleep, waiting for my first hearing," said Mark, who now directs the Toronto Catholic Archdiocese's Office for Refugees. "It's a torture; it's something that should not happen."

What was worse, Mark knew he only had one chance. There was no appeal division, no way to reverse an unfair decision or introduce new evidence -- except through recourse to the expensive court system. "What if that day I have stomach problem, or a migraine?" he asked.

Mark welcomes proposed immigration reforms now before the House of Commons, that would speed up the refugee determination process and add the long-awaited Refugee Appeal Division.

"I'm very happy that finally something is happening, because both refugee advocates and refugees knew that there are issues to be addressed," said Mark in an interview from Toronto.

"One of the biggest problems for the refugee system was the delay, both in Canada and overseas," Mark said.

After introducing Bill C-11 in the House of Commons March 30, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told journalists the reforms would shorten the current average 19 months wait for a hearing to 60 days.

The government would also increase by 20 percent to about 14,500 per year the numbers of refugees coming to Canada from UN camps or urban slums overseas. Of these 2,500 additional sponsorships, 500 would be government-assisted, and 2,000 would be privately sponsored.

Mark said the sponsorship community had been lobbying for a 500 to 1,000 increase. He called the 2,000 new sponsorship opportunities a "dramatic change," that gives Canadians a chance to help refugees, especially through the Catholic Church.

"We have great hopes now," Mark said, noting that a January sponsorship conference in Toronto brought representatives from dioceses across the country who are mobilizing to increase refugee sponsorships through parishes and religious organizations.

The processing time for overseas refugees has been from four to six years, he noted. "The changes will definitely result in cutting in half the processing time," he said, calling it a life-saving move for many refugees.

CNEWA (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) Canada national secretary Carl Hetu also welcomed the reforms. He hopes Canadian Catholics will strengthen their commitment to sponsoring refugees. The Holy See charitable organization has sought to see Iraqi Christian refugees resettled in Canada.

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Hetu welcomed the more proactive approach Canada plans in working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). But he asked whether the reforms might come at the expense of asylum-seekers who were fortunate enough to reach Canada before applying.

He pointed out that 99 percent of the world's refugees will never find a home, but will remain in camps for years. "This is totally unacceptable."

Kenney said Canada's slow-moving system attracts people who abuse the country's generosity, further undermining the system. "They're misusing the asylum system to jump the immigration queue, rather than waiting their turn like everyone else. This undermines the integrity of our immigration system."

Kenney said this is "fundamentally unfair to hundreds of thousands of immigrants patiently waiting to come here the legal way; and it undermines public confidence in -- and support for -- our refugee system. He said Internet sites and an underground counselling industry are helping people make false claims, so they can avail themselves of Canadian social services as the process grinds on for years.

The reforms call for a speedy removal of failed claimants, something Kenney said would save Canadian taxpayers more than $20,000 per claimant in social assistance costs.

Mark cautioned against deciding someone is resorting to fraud if they are rejected as a refugee. Sometimes they merely do not "fit into the box," and meet the Canadian criteria. But that does not mean they are scam artists. Many applicants abandon their claims not because they aren't real refugees, but because they interpret the delay as a tacit "no."

The acceptance rate will go up if these reforms are successful, he said. Speeding up the process will help applicants make claims while the memories of persecution are still fresh. He said refugees want to come here to be able to forget the torture, rape, abuse and humiliation they suffered -- not to retain details for years until they get a hearing.

The reforms call for a list of safe countries that would allow Immigration officials to do a form of triage, to quickly address the most needy refugee applicants. People coming from the 'safe' countries -- that have an established rule of law, respect for human rights and democratic processes -- would still have the right to a hearing, but not the appeal process.

Mark said there would still be a need to examine each individual case. He said the proposed changes are not the same as the Safe Third Country agreement with the United States, that prevents asylum seekers who landed in the U.S. first from making an application in Canada.

Courtesy of Canadian Catholic News. Please do not reprint without permission.

April 14/2010