Citizenship and Immigration committee  Yes, absolutely. It's a pilot project, so it's to be tested in that way. We know already that Canadians have stepped up in their response to the Syrian refugees. There are very generous and capable community organizations and advocacy groups. I'm aware of certain service provider

Citizenship and Immigration committee  It's hard to answer with specific numbers. What we are aware of is that with the current regime, the numbers have dramatically dropped, because the borders are very tight and are being very carefully monitored. There's a lot more at risk, and there are fewer defectors able to mak

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Thank you for the question. It's creating an exceptional category through the minister's discretionary powers under section 25 of the act. I know that Dr. Mark is aware of the pilot project, which was also raised in the study in terms of what advocacy groups have said. He himse

Citizenship and Immigration committee  There are two recommendations from the report that I will be putting forward for consideration. I think the committee will find them very applicable and useful. The report will be submitted, and you can then look at the recommendations cleary and directly. I will close by saying

Citizenship and Immigration committee  Good afternoon. Thank you, Chair and members of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, for undertaking this important study on how Canada can best support vulnerable groups in hard-to-access regions and for examining how Canada can accelerate the asylum applicat