Open AccessLegislative Review, New Directions and Refugee Resettlement
Author(s) -
Michael Casasola
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
refuge
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1920-7336
pISSN - 0229-5113
DOI - 10.25071/1920-7336.22002
Subject(s) - refugee , immigration , legislation , citizenship , legislature , political science , public administration , white paper , economic growth , law , politics , economics
On the surface the proposals surroundingrefugee resettlement in the 1999"white paper" Building on a StrongFoundation for the 21st Century:New Directions for Immigration andRefugee Policy and Legislation appearto be watered down versions of Legislative Review Advisory Group (LRAG)1998 report Not Just Numbers: ACanadian Framework forFuture Immigration proposals.However, the "whitepaper" proposals are the "tip of the iceberg"of a series of recommendationsCitizenship and Immigratiotn Canada(CIC) has developed on how Canadashould resettle refugees in the future.This paper outlines and compares theLRAG report, the "white paper" andCIC's model for future resetlement. Itargues that the proposals offer an opportunityto diminish long-standing barriersto the Canadian resettlementprogram, though the motivation for these .changes may be partially based on verypractical operational needs. Yet in orderto ensure such change takes place, NGOswill have to continue to pressure CIC andthe Minister of Citizenship and Immigrationthat Canada's resettlement programbe truly humanitarian and that thenumber of refugees resettled eaçh year notbe reduced.