In Canada, we've watched asylum and resettlement being reinterpreted. We're told now that changes like the safe third country agreement, which is a reinterpretation of the Geneva Convention, would allow for enhanced resettlement, yet numbers of government-assisted refugees remain stagnant, and years have been added to the private sponsorship process. Add to this the extended family members, as those of us who are inundated with appeals know, who have no access to Canada.
Asylum and immigration are now limited, protected, so it's no surprise that people with valid protection needs turn to private sponsorship or the provincial nominee programs. Admission policies that deny labour and demographic needs as well as humanitarian responses are short-sighted: family reunification and humanitarian programs are also the source of good immigrants, yet Canada, unlike Australia, has no special additional humanitarian program for people who are in refugee-like situations but have family in Canada.
It's also worth noting that Australia admits the same number of refugees—but in the course of months, not years.