Refugees abuse system, says Kenney

By Steven Edwards; March 24, 2009 - Vancouver Sun
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Refugees+abuse+system+says+...

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney spoke Tuesday of "wide-scale and almost systematic abuse" of Canada's refugee system after a United Nations report showed a 30% increase in the number of people seeking refugee or asylum status in Canada.

Much of the increase comes from a major rise in the numbers of Mexicans, Haitians and Colombians claiming they'll face persecution if Canada sends them back to their respective countries, the UN says.

But the world body also says the United States saw a 3% drop in the number of people asking for asylum in that country last year.

Overall, the percentage increase for Canada is almost three times the average for 51 countries studied in Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialized Countries 2008 by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

"This is clearly an abuse of Canada's generosity," Kenney said during an interview. "It is a violation of the integrity of our immigration system."

One difference between the U.S. and Canada is that the States operates a detention system in which applicants can be effectively jailed pending review of their cases, while applicants in Canada are often eligible to work.

"It discourages people from making a claim if they have to stay in jail," said David Matas, a refugee lawyer in Winnipeg.