Asylum seekers

Classification: Unclassified

Branch/Agency: IRCC

Proposed Response:

• Like many other countries, Canada is experiencing a rise in the number of people claiming asylum.
• The Government is committed to improving the efficiency of the asylum system.
• The actions we have taken are consistent with the balance that the Federal Government is seeking to achieve between ensuring that Canada is a place for those who genuinely need protection, but also safeguards the integrity of our immigration system and the safety of our citizens.
• Investments of more than $1B in the Government’s Border Enforcement Strategy will nearly double the capacity of Canada’s asylum system over the next two years. Under this Strategy, we will ensure our asylum system is fast, fair and final.
• To ensure a well-managed and orderly response to recent asylum claim increases, we also continue to work with all levels of government.
• We are also in regular contact with the United States regarding our shared border, as well as with other countries on global migration issues.

Financial Implications:

Funding sought in 2019-20 through Budget 2019 and 2019-20 Supplementary Estimates:

• For 2019-20, Budget 2019 provided $164.4 million for IRCC to enhance the integrity of Canada’s borders and asylum system.
• From this amount, $85.2 million was provided to support the implementation of the Government’s Border Enforcement Strategy, to better manage and discourage irregular migration. This includes funding devoted to managing arrivals at the border (e.g., interim lodging) and detect and discourage the misuse of Canada’s visa system.
• The second portion of funding of $75.2 million is to enhance the asylum system which includes funding to increase capacity at 50,000 cases per year. IRCC accessed $134.4 million via the Budget Implementation Votes in 2019-20 to deliver on these commitments.
• The residual funds are for IT enhancements to be implemented by IRCC, for accommodation services to be provided by PSPC and IT support provided by SSC. Funding beyond 2019-20, with the exception of IT component, has been approved and is included in IRCC reference levels.   
• Budget 2019 also provided $125.1 million destined for health care to refugees and asylum seekers through the Interim Federal Health Program which the department accessed via Budget Implementation Vote. 

In addition, 2019-20 Main Estimates included an amount of $324 million for Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) to support provinces and municipalities for temporary housing as a result of increased volumes of asylum seekers.

Through the Supplementary Estimates A, an additional $121 million was sought for IHAP from unused funding in 2018-19 which brings the total of available funding in 2019-20 to $445 million in Vote 10 – Grants and Contributions.

2020-21 Main Estimates (not yet public):

IRCC’s Main Estimates propose to include funding provided by Budget 2019 in the amount of $158 million destined for health care to refugees and asylum seekers through the Interim Federal Health Program, as well as $91.2 million to enhance the integrity of Canada’s borders and asylum system.

Background:

Latest Asylum Trends

• In 2019, there were about 63,830 total asylum claims. Overall asylum claim volumes were up by 16% in 2019 compared to 2018 (55,040).
• The number of RCMP interceptions between ports of entry recorded in 2019 (16,503) is 15% lower than the number received over the same time period in 2018 (19,419).
• The top three source countries for regular asylum claims in 2019 are India, Mexico and Iran. The top three source countries for irregular claims are Nigeria, Colombia, and Pakistan.

Budget 2019

• Budget 2019 invests $1.18 billion over five years, starting in 2019-20, and $55 million per year ongoing, to enhance the integrity of Canada’s borders and asylum system.
• These investments support the Border Enforcement Strategy, and increase the asylum system’s capacity in order to provide timely protection to refugees and ensure failed asylum claimants are removed, faster. This approach has 3 main pillars:
• Detect and discourage misuse of Canada’s visa system, by preventing travel to Canada by individuals who may not be legitimate temporary visa applicants. (Border Enforcement Strategy)
• This includes investing in intelligence gathering and trend analysis; discouraging and interdicting would-be asylum seekers abroad; engaging recalcitrant countries in support of removal operations; and continuing to work with United States (U.S.) officials to share information and trend analysis that may impact U.S. and Canada visa issuance.
• Manage arrivals at the border, while ensuring the safety of Canadians, and maintaining contingency plans in the event of an influx of asylum seekers (Border Enforcement Strategy)
• This includes investing in ongoing capacity for interceptions between ports of entry, and continuing to engage the U.S. to modernize the Safe Third Country Agreement.Contingency measures have also been put in place to ensure we are ready to respond to potential increases in the number of asylum seekers.
• In addition, legislative changes were made to improve our ability to manage flows along the border in the event of an influx. Changes were also made to bar access to the Immigration and Refugee Board for those who have made asylum claims in other countries in order to discourage against the making of multiple claims in different countries. Instead, these individuals have access to a pre-removal risk assessment prior to removal to ensure that they are not returned to a situation of risk.
• Invest in the asylum system for a fast, fair and final system by processing more asylum claims faster and by removing those who do not need Canada’s protection
• Funding was increased for the asylum system as a whole to process higher volumes of claims. This funding will allow the IRB to make decisions on up to 50,000 asylum claims and 13,500 appeals by fiscal year 2020-21. The asylum system presently has base funding to process 26,000 claims per year. Investments will also support the work of IRCC, CBSA and other security partners.
• Funding was also provided to triage asylum cases via an Integrated Claims Analysis Centre (ICAC) pilot in Toronto; manage the asylum system in an integrated manner with the Deputy-level Asylum System Management Board (ASMB); invest more in settlement funding and information technology (IT) capacity; increase the number of judges and funding for the Federal Court; and allow for the timely removal of individuals found not to be in genuine need of protection
• We are also working with our provincial and municipal partners on a regular basis to address the challenges that have arisen as a result of the increasing volume of asylum claims. The Government has provided financial support to provinces and municipalities for extraordinary interim housing costs as well as to address challenges with immigration and refugee legal aid funding.