They are the “lost refugees,” the thousands who have been stuck for years in a bureaucratic backlog.
While Ottawa has been speedily processing the 25,000 Syrian refugees who are now beginning to arrive in Canada, thousands of other refugee claimants from elsewhere — who are already in Canada — have been waiting years to have their cases heard.
Syeda Ahsan Zehra fled to Canada with her toddler son, Vaasay, in November 2012, saying she’d received death threats from religious extremists in Pakistan. She hasn’t seen her husband since.
Zulfiqar Ali and his wife, Shabana, also fled Pakistan four months earlier, saying they were threatened by Taliban fanatics over their close friendship with Christians.
Today, both families are still waiting to have their refugee claims heard by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board, so they can move on with their lives.
Their asylum claims are among 6,500 so-called “legacy cases” that had been filed before the previous Conservative government changed the rules in December 2012 to expedite the asylum process, to address the growing backlog. All legacy claims are expected to be cleared by the end of 2018.
While the new claims filed after the reforms are generally heard within 60 days, critics say, the new speedy processing appears to be at the expense of the old.
“They promised the legacy cases would be processed in a timely fashion and asked claimants to be patient. Right now, nobody is getting scheduled for their hearings,” said Toronto immigration lawyer Max Berger.
“These are the lost refugees, lost when government resources are being diverted to processing refugees under the new rules.”
Refugee board spokesperson Anna Pape said new asylum claims filed after Dec. 15, 2012, must take priority because they have to be heard within specific time limits in accordance with the law.
“The IRB continues to schedule and hear claims made before Dec. 15, 2012 within its existing resources. There has been significant capacity to decide these claims over the past few years,” she said. “It should be noted that the IRB has made significant progress in reducing these cases.”
While the claimants are safe in Canada longer, Berger said agents from whom they fled often target the immediate family members they left behind. The delay in getting a hearing can also be detrimental to the success of their claims.
“Credibility is key to successful claims; people’s memories fade over time and these claimants would be prejudiced and denied justice if their claims are heard only years after they came.”
Zehra, 33, a local assistant visa officer at the British High Commission in Islamabad, said she was threatened by Sunni fanatics for helping Shias and having close Christian friends. She and her son left behind her husband, Arbab Husain Naqvi, because he couldn’t get a Canadian visa.
“The threatening phone calls never stopped, and my country couldn’t protect us,” said the Toronto woman. “My son was 3 when we came to Canada. He’s now 6 years old and we still have not had our hearing. He misses his father. How can I live peacefully when my husband still faces the threats back home?”
Ali, 54, and wife Shabana, 45, left their four children and arrived in Toronto in March 2012 to temporarily escape threats from the Taliban, they said. The couple said they filed a refugee claim three months later, after fanatics came to their house back home, looking for them.
“It’s good we are safe in Canada, but we are frustrated that we are waiting for so long,” said Ali, who ran a small business back home. “My wife and I just want to get a quick hearing date. Even if our claim gets rejected fast, we are willing to take a chance.”
Pape said the refugee board understands that refugee claimants are anxious to see their claims heard and finalized, and more decision-makers will be hired to address the shortfall early in the new year.
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