Liberals Announce New Immigration Policies

Only one week since being formally sworn in, the Canadian government revealed important immigration policy changes and confirming that Syrian refugees will dominate the storyline for the rest of the year. Many of the policies were outlined in our previous writing How the Liberals Can Improve Canada's Immigration Policies.

On refugees, the Liberal government's senior most cabinet ministers will oversee a committee of nine cabinet ministers chaired by Health Minister Jane Philpott with Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly serving as vice-chair. The committee will oversee the task of bringing in 25,000 Syrian refugees by the end of the year. Immigration and Refugees Minister John McCallum also confirmed the government is working with stakeholders on creating the process for selecting and securing exit permits for refugees. The use of temporary ministerial permits is also being considered. A portion of asylum seekers will be housed on military bases. Ottawa is