If a refugee arrives at an airport and is deemed a refugee several months later, that refugee is able to go ahead and sponsor a child. Now if they're classified—because I agree with your comments—as an irregular and they're held in detention, they're not allowed to.
My understanding is that this is against the United Nations policy, to which Canada was signatory, that the refugees in one nation have to be treated equally. At least that was the expectation back in 1951.
Is that not a correct assumption on my part?