Stephanie Levitz: Canadian Press and Refugee Board

stephanie levitz: One of the options on the table, multiple sources have told The Canadian Press, is rejigging the historic Immigration and Refugee Board, and giving some of its authority over to the Immigration Department itself, according to Toronto Star. But those advocating for the government to do something before backlogs threaten the integrity of the system say they are running up against a Liberal government seeming to have lost interest in spending any more money or political capital to help asylum seekers. PATRICK DOYLE / THE CANADIAN PRESS By Stephanie Levitz The Canadian Press Mon., May 15, 2017 OTTAWA A Liberal election promise to overhaul the way asylum claims are handled has been postponed indefinitely despite rising numbers of people seeking refuge in Canada putting the system at risk, The Canadian Press has learned. Read more Number of asylum claims from Mexico drop in April since visa lift Article Continued Below Manitoba, feds at odds over refugee funding amid influx of asylum seekers The starting point is the designated country of origins system, which determines how fast asylum claims are heard based on where they are from a system that should, in theory, help weed out unfounded claims faster. Elements of the program have already been struck down by the Federal Court. react-empty 157 The Liberals had been on the cusp of doing away with it, going even farther than their original promise to use an expert panel to determine which countries belonged on that list. Internal evaluations have shown that hasn't quite worked, and the system has drawn the ire of refugee advocates for creating a two-tier approach that includes unworkable timelines for hearing cases and their appeals. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.