Slow, Subjective and Stressful: A Guide to Canada's Asylum System

Abstract

This paper is the second in a series of papers on Canada’ asylum system. The first paper, Ping-pong Asylum, took us to the border, and outlined the issues behind the recent influx of people crossing there. This paper focuses on what happens to those people, and other asylum seekers, once they are inside Canada. The analysis shows that Canada’s asylum system is not an easy path to living in Canada or gaining citizenship. Asylum seekers or Canadian citizens who think asylum is a form of queue jumping or circumventing normal immigration pathways are mistaken. It is a complex web of agencies and steps. This complexity partially results from the due process granted to asylum seekers. It is also the result of evolving bureaucracies and case management systems impacted by political agendas and sudden surges in asylum seeker numbers. This complex system does not lend itself well to a quick resolution of an asylum seeker’s case, and it does not respond efficiently to large numbers in a short time span.