National Post

Refugee sponsorshi­p could help with immigratio­n woes

Afederal survey last fall found Canadians’ approval of immigratio­n levels was at a 20-year low. After August’s Cabinet retreat, it looks like Ottawa is finally taking notice. The prime minister has announced the government will curb the number of temporary residents. Although this is welcome news to economists and lay people alike, reviewing temporary flows is not enough. To reduce net immigratio­n, Ottawa also needs to look at the paths to permanent residency, like asylum.

The current top-down system in which the government decides how many refugees to allow into the country isn’t working. Support for bringing in Afghan refugees dropped from an already ambivalent half of Canadians in 2022 to just one-third in 2023. Instead of government-set quotas, we need a system that allows Canadians themselves to have a direct say in how many refugees to accept.

Embracing a system that leans heavily on private refugee sponsorshi­p would empower Canadians to make decisions about immigratio­n levels based on their own knowledge of their community’s ability to welcome newcomers. Government polling shows Canadians’ main concerns over immigratio­n relate to shortages of housing and public services. This only makes sense: More newcomers add demand to already stretched supplies. Refugees who have their asylum cases approved overseas automatica­lly receive permanent residency upon arrival in Canada and gain access to government services. Private refugee sponsorshi­p allows the Canadian people — rather than the government — to help decide how many is too many. No one knows the social fabric and public infrastruc­ture of the community accepting refugees better than the community itself.

Sponsorshi­p is not complicate­d. Groups of citizens or permanent residents — whether families, employers, civil society organizati­ons, or members of faith or ethnocultu­ral groups — nominate refugees from overseas for resettleme­nt. They then support refugees’ living costs for a time, usually up to a year after refugees’ arrival in Canada. In this way, private refugee sponsorshi­p, in addition to delivering the benefits already mentioned, also puts less strain on the public purse.

Sponsored refugees are less likely to compete with others for health care and housing. A 2023 study found that privately sponsored refugees in Ontario were only half as likely as other refugees to be registered with a family doctor after their first year, most likely because sponsor groups select healthier refugees for resettleme­nt. When it comes to housing, sponsorshi­p groups have to take into account the effect of inflation in their efforts to house refugees — which may help explain why there is less support for Ukrainian refugees than there was for Syrian refugees just a few years ago.

Although the government should continue to vet asylum seekers, the actual selection and integratio­n of refugees should increasing­ly be given over to private sponsors. Let Canadians themselves decide how many refugee newcomers to welcome. Survey data show we’re generally less optimistic about refugees’ ability to integrate than we once were, partly because of worries about shortages in housing, health care, and education. But poor refugee integratio­n and newcomers competing with Canadians for necessitie­s are both symptoms of an immigratio­n policy that doesn’t pay enough attention to the absorptive capacity of local communitie­s. Private refugee sponsorshi­p also benefits Canadian society by strengthen­ing the social fabric. Sponsored refugees are better able to contribute as community members or employees. To ensure refugees are accepted first and foremost on the basis of asylum, however, employers who sponsor skilled refugees should not be allowed to pay them less than Canadian workers.

Private refugee sponsorshi­p, when implemente­d well, works for communitie­s, employers, government­s and refugees alike. Communitie­s welcome people they know something about, employers find talent without displacing people, government­s can reallocate services and resources, and refugees are supported in their transition to Canadian society.

Canadians are lucky to be able to choose who to let in to this country without having to deal with the mass border crossings on land or in small boats that complicate other countries’ migration policies. We should use our geography to our advantage by being selective when helping those in need. Private refugee sponsorshi­p would make the best of Canadian kindness and also ensure we can continue to help safeguard the world’s most vulnerable.

EMBRACING A SYSTEM THAT LEANS HEAVILY ON PRIVATE REFUGEE SPONSORSHI­P WOULD EMPOWER CANADIANS.