OTTAWA, July 15 (UPI) -- Canada's immigration minister says he wants an overhaul of the country's refugee system in light of a diplomatic uproar this week over new visa requirements.
Speaking in Ottawa, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told reporters Tuesday the government was studying asylum reforms Britain introduced in 2004, the Globe and Mail reported Wednesday.
Kenney spoke hours after new regulations went into effect requiring travelers from the Czech Republic and Mexico have visas because of burgeoning refugee applications. Both countries lodged diplomatic protests and the Czech ambassador was recalled.
"This does underscore the need to reform our asylum system so that it ensures that real victims of persecution get swift relief and protection in Canada, and that economic migrants seeking to abuse our generosity are shown to the door quickly," Kenney said. "It's not lost on economic migrants who want to jump the queue that we have a system that's fairly easy to abuse."
Under the existing system, applications for refugee status can take years to process. If they are eventually denied, federal courts often overrule deportation orders on humanitarian grounds because the migrants have established themselves and started families, the report said.
