The Liberals’ 2019 budget lays out $1.18 billion over five years for agencies responsible for Canada’s asylum system, including the Canadian Border Services agency and the RCMP. The asylum system and irregular migration became a political flashpoint in 2017 with a spike in the number of asylum claimants crossing the Canada-U.S. border illegally and requesting sanctuary. ( Charles Krupa / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS )The government hopes the new funding will allow the asylum system to process 50,000 cases per year, up from the current capacity of 26,000. The asylum system and irregular migration became a political flashpoint in 2017 with a spike in the number of asylum claimants crossing the Canada-U.S. border illegally and requesting sanctuary. Article Continued Below“This is largely due to longer projected wait times for migrants to complete the entire asylum claim process.

Source: thestar March 19, 2019 21:00 UTC