A year after being chosen by lot, the refugee sponsorship files are still waiting on the desk of the Quebec Immigration Department. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Canada, families whose applications were filed at the same time are already beginning to arrive.
“Why this difference between the two? This is a problem, dropped Norbert Piché, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service Canada. There is something wrong, particularly in Quebec. I don’t know what, but I would like to know! »
In the wake of the capture of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021, his organization, which has several sponsorships to its credit, decided to take under its wing six Afghan families, two of whom are destined for Quebec. Among the four families expected elsewhere in Canada, in Ontario and Manitoba, one of them arrived in Toronto last November, after only six months of waiting. The others have just passed the final stages — medical examinations and security checks — required by the federal government. “They should arrive this summer,” Piché said.
And the two who want to settle in Quebec? ” Nothing. We have no news, ”he lamented. According to his organization, the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) did not respond to sponsorship applications submitted in 2022. The MIFI was unable to confirm whether he dealt with files, not having answered the questions of the Duty within the time allowed. Last year, however, the ministry confirmed that 734 files had been drawn by lot in April 2022.
The Jesuit Refugee Service is not alone in this situation. Several other organizations said they had heard nothing about their sponsorship applications since the summer of 2022. “I know that 19 of our files won the draw and that we submitted [en juin 2022] all the documents requested for the second stage of the engagement. We have had no news since,” said Alessandra Santopadre, responsible for sponsorships for the Diocese of Montreal.
The wait at the Quebec government level is so long that one of the families she was sponsoring canceled her commitment with the Diocese of Montreal to try her luck with an organization in Saskatchewan. “And she has already arrived! “His organization is in Quebec and must comply with the rules here, but Mme Santopadre does not hesitate to encourage refugee families to do business with organizations in other provinces. “When a family decides to apply in another province, I tell them: ‘The important thing is to be saved, so go for it, especially if it goes faster!’ »
Longer delays than before
A victim of its own success, the program has undergone numerous reforms in recent years. After long moratoriums to allow the disposal of files — in 2017, the inventory was 11,000 sponsorship files — and an investigation for fraud by certain organizations, new administrative rules came to govern the program, and a draw system lot was imposed. While there was no limit, the quota was set at 750 files, a ceiling slightly raised to 825 last year.
Organizations and groups of individuals wishing to sponsor refugees must now submit an undertaking application for a period determined by the department. Once the draw has been made among the files deemed eligible, the sponsors then have 60 days to submit further information, in particular on their financial capacity. Only when they get approval from MIFI can they file their cases with the federal government, which makes a final decision after medical and security checks.
According to Mme Santopadre, processing times in Quebec have increased since the many reforms of the program. “Before, there was no draw and two stages for the application. We sent a single undertaking application, and in a few months, we could already send our files to the federal government. Now, it takes a year, a year and a half before having [l’approbation] of the MIFI to be able to send our file to the federal government. »
Reverend Diane Rollert, of the Unitarian Church of Montreal, also has the impression that the delays have worsened in recent years. His Church, which is not in its first sponsorship experience, had sponsored Syrian families in 2016, who had arrived in less than a year. This time, she had no news of her sponsorship file, drawn in April 2022, which consists of bringing three Afghans here. “It’s been a year already. Is it that [le MIFI] looked at the file? I’m wondering. »
She points out that elsewhere in Canada, the delays seem derisory in comparison with those in Quebec. An Afghan sponsored last summer by a branch of his congregation in Halifax arrived in just eight months. “He’s already been here since the end of March!” With the help of a very involved parishioner, Reverend Rollert has already alerted federal and provincial deputies to put pressure, at least on the Quebec government. “He says he is overwhelmed,” she reports, saying she finds the situation very “frustrating”.
Action Réfugiés Montréal, one of the most experienced organizations, is also surrounded by mystery. He is awaiting news of 14 sponsorship files. The director, Ian Van Haren, believes that due to the low number of arrivals during the pandemic, the quotas for refugees should be increased. “We need to increase this number to speed up the process. Some say: why we welcome new requests [de parrainage] for 2023 when we have not processed those of 2022? Me, I say that we must increase the refugee targets, like a catch-up for 2021 and 2022. “
The emergency of the Afghans
The Jesuit Refugee Service is particularly concerned about the Afghan families it sponsors. Because as they meet the criteria for the special measures for Afghans put in place by Ottawa, they will be processed more quickly once their file is in the hands of the federal government. About 20,000 people can be accommodated in this humanitarian program. “But the more time goes by, the fewer places are left in the program. It’s first come, first served. The federal government will not reserve places for Afghans who come to Quebec,” explained Hugo Ducharme, who is in charge of monitoring sponsorships for the Jesuit organization.
Without wanting to make a distinction between refugees, Norbert Piché believes that the situation of Afghans is particularly urgent. “There were special measures for them. These are people who had to leave their country quickly and who are kept waiting in Pakistan. […] And there, we have an additional step on the Quebec side and which takes time. There is something wrong. »