The government’s plan to admit protected persons as permanent residents. 650–700 words.

Refugee / humanitarian considerations as one of the 3 pillars of Canada's immigration is reflected on

Canada’s compassionate willingness to “offer a safe haven to persons with a well-founded fear of
persecution based on race , religion, nationality, political opinion , gender or member of a particular
social group, as well as persons at risk of torture or cruel and an unusual punishment”. Objectives of
IRPA, set out in section 3(2d)

Also, as a fulfillment of Canada’s international obligations in relation to the United Nations Convention in
1951and its 1967 Protocol relating to refugees, Canada has been actively involved in resettling refugees.

The UNHCR's annual global trends report shows Canada took in 28,100 of the 92,400 refugees who were
resettled in 25 countries during 2018; the United States was second with 22,900. About 1.4 million
refugees were in need of resettlement in 2018, but only 92,400 were resettled.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Departmental Plan 2018–2019 states that “IRCC will
continue to engage with international partners, such as the UNHCR, the Migration Five, the Regional
Conference on Migration and the International Organization for Migration, to advance Canada’s priorities
on migration-related issues, which includes the protection of refugees, in particular vulnerable women
and children.”

The government’s 2019-2021 plan for immigration, which includes admitting protected persons as
permanent residents is designed to contribute to an immigration system that strengthens the Canadian
middle class through economic growth, supports diversity and helps build vibrant, dynamic and inclusive
communities, while maintaining border integrity to preserve the safety and security of Canadians.

2019: In the 2018 federal Budget the Government of Canada committed to resettle an additional 1,000
vulnerable women and girls as refugees. Both the Government-assisted Refugee target and the overall
levels target have been adjusted upwards by 800 admissions to align with this commitment (since 200 of
these admissions are expected in 2018).

2020: The target in the Protected Persons and Dependents Abroad category is increased by 1,000
admissions to help address growing demand, and the overall target is increased by the same amount,
from 340,000 to 341,000. An additional adjustment is made by exchanging 700 spaces from the Blended
Visa Office Referred Program to the Government-assisted Refugee Program, with no net change to the
number of resettled refugees Canada intends to accept. This is an opportunity to better plan for meeting
resettlement objectives in light of challenges in meeting the Blended Visa Office Referred Program
target.

2021: The plan increases by an additional 9,000 admissions, with 6,500 allocated to the Economic Class
and 2,500 to humanitarian streams to address demand pressures in these categories.

In 2019–2020, the Department will continue to work with partners to ensure that asylum claimants
receive fair and timely protection decisions at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) and
that the integrity of the in-Canada asylum system is maintained. The Department will continue to
conduct health screening to help protect public health and safety in Canada, and will continue to provide
asylum claimants, resettled refugees and other eligible beneficiaries with health-care coverage through
the Interim Federal Health Program, which was restored in 2016.
Canada has been a leader on welcoming refugees and giving them opportunities to thrive. But because
of the overall increasing number of persons fleeing war and persecution in the last few years, there is
only so much refugees Canada can welcome.

This has been a global issue, and Canada is also actively advocating for an increased refugee protection
spaces globally according to the 2018 Annual Report on Immigration. And “Canada will continue to
engage with domestic and international partners to manage increasing numbers of claims in regular and
irregular streams, including from individuals and groups who have crossed the border into Canada
between designated points of entry. IRCC will continue to advance policy with respect to Canada-U.S.
relations, identify deterrence measures and strategies for reducing irregular border crossings, and
conduct contingency planning”, according to The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Departmental Plan 2018–2019.

REFERENCES

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/annual-
report-parliament-immigration-2018/report.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-
manuals/departmental-plan-2018-2019/departmental-plan.html

https://www.unhcr.org/global-trends-2018-media.html