Ottawa is moving to fast-track refugee and asylum claims as a growing backlog has pushed wait times for decisions to nearly four years, according to proposed regulatory changes published by the federal government.Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Immigration announced plans to impose stricter deadlines on refugee applicants and government officials in an effort to reduce mounting delays that have strained Canada's asylum system amid record numbers of claimants.“Lengthy processing times impede Canada’s ability to provide timely protection to those who need it, make the removal of failed refugee claimants harder and result in prolonged uncertainty for claimants,” the department said in a regulatory notice published Saturday.The proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations would require refugee claimants to submit complete applications and supporting documents within 60 days. The changes would also impose a one-year deadline for ministerial reviews of claims.Federal officials acknowledged the refugee system is struggling under the weight of rising claim volumes.“The asylum system has been strained in recent years as the number of claims increased, leading to lengthy processing times and backlogs,” stated the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement accompanying the proposal.Under the changes, claimants would be required to prepare and submit their application materials more quickly in an effort to accelerate decision-making.The Immigration and Refugee Board has warned lawmakers that the current backlog has reached historic levels.Appearing before the House of Commons immigration committee last November, Immigration and Refugee Board Chair Manon Brassard said claimants entering the system today could face waits of approximately 44 to 45 months before receiving a decision.“The shock to the system at the Board was this large, large increase that got us to historical levels,” Brassard testified. “Such large numbers were not expected.”.Brassard noted that refugee claims surged from 154,000 in 2022-23 to 176,000 in 2024-25.“Given our ability to finalize about 80,000 a year, it would be about 44 months,” she said.The federal government is also proposing additional restrictions on refugee claims made by foreigners entering Canada from the United States.Under the new rules, individuals who wait more than one year after first entering Canada before making a refugee claim would be deemed ineligible. The government also proposes barring claims from people who enter Canada illegally from the United States and wait 14 days or longer before filing a claim.The surge in refugee claims has sparked political debate over federal immigration policies.Some MPs have linked the increase to the Trudeau government's 2016 decision, later reversed, allowing Mexican nationals to travel to Canada without visas. Others have pointed to public statements by Liberal politicians that critics say may have encouraged more asylum seekers to come to Canada.Bloc Québécois MP Mario Simard told the immigration committee that messages portraying Canada as especially welcoming may have contributed to rising claim numbers.“When the Prime Minister said we're a welcoming country, come to us, you're welcome, that's warm, that's friendly, that's generous,” Simard said. “But at a time when people are getting their information from social media ... there is a snowball effect.”
