Nathan Denette: Refugees and Privatate Sponsorship

nathan denette: Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS By Sammy Hudes Staff Reporter Sat., Dec. 24, 2016 The federal government will cap new applications for private sponsorship of Syrian and Iraqi refugees at 1,000 in 2017, due to a backlog and long wait times faced by those whose applications are still being processed, according to Toronto Star. But some feel the move, announced earlier this week by Citizenship and Immigration Minister John McCallum, betrays the positive global perception Canada has seen since late last year when the Liberals took office and committed to accepting more refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria. McCallum's ministry is now implementing a cap on privatate sponsorship of refugees. The government's playing politics here, on the one hand saying we should be celebrated for being welcoming, and then on the other hand stopping people from being able to get to safety, said Lesley Wood, a sociology professor at York University who has sponsored two Syrian refugee families. It forms part of a broader strategy to address the large backlog and long wait times in the Privately Sponsored Refugees category, according to the government. The government's policy, which came into effect Dec. 19, places a limit of 1,000 sponsorship applications for the next year by groups of five people or more and community sponsors such as organizations. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.