SLOW, SUBJECTIVE AND STRESSFUL: A GUIDE TO CANADA’S ASYLUM SYSTEM

Abstract

Canadians often assume that seeking asylum in Canada is a quick and easy route to permanent residency and citizenship. Nothing could be further from the truth. With its emphasis on due process, the asylum claim system is a complex machine whose wheels turn slowly. It is managed by a number of bureaucracies which offer different pathways through the system based on the particulars of the claim. The current cumbersome set up is not conducive to quick resolution of asylum claims, nor is it capable of responding efficiently to sudden, large influxes of claims over a short time.

Keywords

• Asylum seeker
• asylum claim
• Canadian asylum