Responding to your question, this feels like what Yogi Berra once said—“déjà vu all over again”.
During the fall of 2004 and the winter of 2005, KAIROS, the Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives, which brings together churches and their development agencies, launched a petition campaign. This came after the meeting church leaders had with the minister in the summer of 2004. The petition called for the implementation of the refugee appeal division.
Over 25,000 Canadians signed the petition. Refugees issues are not necessarily the number one issue in the minds and hearts of many Canadians. I found when I did workshops across the country—and I was learning about these issues—that people learn something about Canada's obligations under international law and under our own charter, and they learn something about who our neighbour is and who our neighbour might be. It was an epiphany for many of us in our denomination.
So 25,000 Canadians signed the petition. The petitions were submitted to the House of Commons in April and June of 2005; they were formally tabled. The response of the then minister was that the system, even without an appeal—and I'm quoting—“effectively provides protection to those who need it”.