Clearing the backlog of Mexican citizens who have sought asylum in Canada over the past five years will cost Canada approximately $500 million, according to a parliamentary budget officer report.
It’s a price Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada “probably shouldn’t have had to bear in the first place.”
The PBO examined the cost of processing asylum applications made by people who arrived in Canada using an easy-to-obtain document, known as an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTa), as opposed to a traditional visa.
“The eTA application requires a $7 fee and is completed online, with most applications approved within minutes,” the report reads.
The PBO estimates that the federal government is spending $455 million processing these claims. The average cost is $16,500, but ranged from $9,055 to $40,814.
“A large number of those costs are associated with Mexico [asylum claims]”Molinero said.
Last February, the federal government reintroduced the visa requirement for Mexican nationals.
Asylum applications from that country reached a record level last year, but more than 60 percent were rejected or withdrawn.
The email you need to receive the top news stories from Canada Day and around the world.
“What we found with the Mexican plaintiffs is that a large portion were not entitled to it, and that is a position in the system that we arguably should not have had to take on in the first place,” Miller told reporters at a news conference. . conference in Montreal.
“The reimposition of the visa was a good thing,” he added.
The PBO analysis was only carried out until the beginning of this year. During the first two months of the year, Mexican citizens were still able to enter Canada with an eTA.
“Asylum seekers arriving in Canada with an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) are the fastest growing group compared to applicants with other types of authorizations to enter Canada (such as visas),” the report says. PBO.
He adds that reinstating the visa requirement will likely reduce costs.
“Given that asylum seekers whose country of presumed processing is Mexico represent the majority of recent asylum applications, this could significantly affect future processing times, as well as delay, and therefore affect the cost per applicant.” .
In 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau eliminated the visa requirement for Mexican citizens coming to Canada.
Chris Alexander, who was immigration minister under Stephen Harper, said that was a mistake in an interview with Global News last month.
“The department’s professional advice was against it. The criteria we had established as a country to eliminate visa requirements were against it,” Alexander said.
The PBO only reviewed the eTA stream, which represents 17 percent of asylum applications.
The total number of asylum applications has increased since 2016 and reached a record 144,860 last year.
The Immigration and Refugee Board, which handles the cases, has seen a 75 percent increase in applications during the first four months of 2024, compared to the same period last year.
“I am enormously concerned about this,” said immigration and refugee attorney Robert Israel Blanshay. “I’m looking forward to reading something from the Immigration and Refugee Board on how they plan to absorb this jump.”
The Liberals have set aside nearly $750 million to try to clear the backlog.
“There could be an accelerated flow to use. And I think the Immigration and Refugee Board is looking for ways to do that,” Blanshay said.
“But I’m not so sure how close they are to a solution.”
– with files from Mackenzie Gray and Jillian Piper
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
