OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) – The Conservative government says it will speed up the processing of Syrian refugee applications in an effort to issue “thousands more” visas before the end of this year.
Syrians fleeing the civil war will no longer have to prove they are convention refugees under the United Nations Refugee Agency, but will be presumed to be refugees by Canadian authorities for the purposes of vetting their applications.
The announcement came this afternoon from Chris Alexander, the minister of citizenship and immigration, in his east Toronto riding.
Alexander says the government is accelerating its existing commitment to refugee resettlement, not increasing the actual target numbers.
The government will also appoint a special co-ordinator to handle the overall file of Syrian and Iraqi refugees, more than double the number of staff handling sponsorship applications and will expand the categories of refugees eligible for temporary government income assistance.
Alexander says “security screening will remain the top priority,” while assuring all medical screening and background screening will continue.