QUESTION PERIOD — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Asylum Seekers
June 25, 2025
My question is for Senator Gold, and it’s also my last interaction with you during Question Period. I’m grateful to you for your career and your service.
June 20 was World Refugee Day. At the height of the crisis at Roxham Road, when asylum claimants were crossing the border in unprecedented numbers, I visited the DEV Centre in my home city of Cornwall.
Asylum seekers from around the world were staying there, including a man named Firas from Turkey. Firas is among the many, many Syrian refugees in Canada who haven’t been able to go home in years. Firas hasn’t seen his mom in 10 years. He’s feeling hopeful right now because France is now allowing Syrian refugees to return home temporarily without losing their refugee status. Shouldn’t Canada consider a similar approach now that the Assad regime has fallen?
Thank you for your question. Canada very much welcomes the end of Syria’s Assad regime — a regime that inflicted decades of suffering on its own people and on the families who lost hundreds of thousands of members to this violence.
I can’t speculate on any changes to the Canadian refugee program, but I can reaffirm, on behalf of the government, its commitment to the Syrian people and lasting peace in the area. And I will certainly bring your suggestion forward to the attention of the minister.
Thank you, Senator Gold. I understand Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, is slowly chipping away at the backlog of applications in its system. However, we know that people are being impacted by these delays, and part of that impact, of course, is being disconnected from family for years.
Senator Gold, what more can be done to ensure that IRCC meets its service standards and delivers answers to applicants in a timely manner?
Thank you. This government has made many commitments, one of which is to improve the way in which government delivers its services through the head of the civil service. It is a testament to that commitment. The government remains committed to improving the efficiency of the system while maintaining its integrity.
