Refugee crisis prompts calls for action
Canada needs to act decisively to bring in more Syrian refugees by making it easier for citizens and permanent residents to privately sponsor them says a Syrian refugee who came to Vancouver last year.
Majd Agha, a college student who was one of the first to come to Canada as a refugee in 2014, said the image of a Syrian toddler's body washed up on a Turkish beach is "heartbreaking" but not uncommon.
"If the whole world is going to wake up for this photo, then let me tell you, there [are] 1,000 incidents happening with the same photo every day," he said.
Since it was discovered that the family of the toddler had been trying to come to Canada, many others have been calling on the Canadian government to resettle more Syrian Refugees
Barriers to sponsoring refugees
Canada has committed to accepting 11,300 refugees by 2017.
Many of those are expected to be settled through private sponsorship, using the "group of five" process that allows five or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents to sponsor a refugee.
But Zool Suleman, an immigration lawyer based in Vancouver, says changes that the federal government made a few years ago have made it more challenging for private sponsors.
"In 2012 the government of Canada at that time — which is the current government until parliament was prorogued — in fact made it increasingly difficult for private sponsors and groups of five to bring refugees to Canada," he said.
Agha, says he has yet to meet another Syrian refugee in Canada and believes it is imperative that the application process needs to be far more efficient.
"What we can do is speed up this process and bring them to safe countries as soon as possible, so these people don't have to take these horrible trips to reach Europe or any other safe place?"
More than just numbers
Following the outcry about the toddler and his family who were trying to come to Canada, Liberal leader Justin Trudeau said that, if elected, his government would take in 25,000 Syrian refugees.
NDP leader Tom Mulcair said that Canada should take in 10,000 immediately.
Suleman said "one-upping the amount of numbers" of refugees is not a solution.
"What is really going to need to happen is the Canadian public needs to make clear to the leadership of the government that, if they actually want to go and actually save lives, there are ways to do this. Canada has done this before. They can do it again," said Suleman, who came to Canada as a refugee from Uganda in 1972.
"It's taken this horrible tragedy to galvanize the public. But if we have the will, we can change this," Suleman said.
As to those who might criticize the family of the toddler for having taking the risk to cross the waters to Turkey — as opposed to following protocols — Suleman said their argument misses the point.
"There's always this mythology that there's a line somewhere, where you stand in line, and eventually you come to the front of the line," he said.
"What's the proper process when your country disintegrates? [And] three to four million of you run away with the clothes on your back? I can say to you that in 1972 when I came as a refugee from Uganda...my country blew up in the sense that civil society disintegrated, and Canada made herculean efforts to be there."
"The capacity is there."
To hear the full interview with Zool Suleman, click on the audio labelled: Immigration lawyers discuss Syrian refugee crisis
To hear the full interview with Majd Agha, listen to the audio labelled: Local Syrian refugee says government not doing enough to help crisis.
