In the wake of a bloody civil war and the emergence of the Islamic State, millions of Syrians have fled their homes, with many seeking safety outside the country鈥檚 borders.
With nations like Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan overwhelmed by the huge influx of refugees, displaced Syrians are seeking asylum in nations across Europe and the rest of the world, including Canada.
Canada鈥檚 response to this humanitarian disaster has been put in the spotlight after the world was exposed to a photo of , who drowned after a boat capsized attempting to travel to the Greek island of Kos.
Immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman and Queen鈥檚 University professor Sharry Aiken weigh in on the Canadian government鈥檚 reaction to the crisis facing millions of Syrian refugees.
How does Canada compare to the rest of the world in its handling of refugees?
鈥淧rime Minister Harper is talking about Canada being the most generous country in terms of the number of people we accept a year per capita,鈥� Waldman told CTV News on Thursday. 鈥淲hat we need to understand is that there鈥檚 a difference between immigrants and refugees.鈥�
鈥淲hat he鈥檚 talking about is accepting 250,000 people a year as immigrants,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ithin that number there鈥檚 a small number of people who come in as refugees.鈥�
Waldman said those who are allowed to immigrate into Canada fall under three categories: those who have a job or skills in demand and immigrate for economic reasons; those who immigrate because they have family in Canada; and those who come here as refugees.
Refugees make up a small portion of immigrants compared to the 鈥渧ast majority鈥� of people who come to Canada each year for economic or family reasons, Waldman said.
鈥淭he image of the boy on the shore 鈥� we鈥檙e not talking about immigrants. We鈥檙e talking about refugees whose lives are in danger in their country, and who need to find a place to live because if they don鈥檛, they鈥檙e going to be killed.鈥�
How many Syrian refugees has Canada accepted?
鈥淭he reality is, in terms of the actual number of Syrian refugees that have been accepted in Canada since the crisis began 鈥� it鈥檚 impossible to get statistics,鈥� Waldman said.
鈥淭he highest number I鈥檝e seen 2,500 Syrian refugees. Other numbers I鈥檝e seen suggests the number is somewhere around 1,500.鈥�
And those numbers, Waldman said, include private sponsored refugees 鈥� where groups like churches, rather than the government, agree to take in refugees and feed and house them.
Compared to other countries, Canada lags behind, he said. Sweden, for example, has taken in tens of thousands of refugees, despite having about one-third the population of Canada. Germany is expected to take in at least 800,000 asylum seekers this year.
鈥淭o compare us to Sweden or Germany, it鈥檚 pretty embarrassing,鈥� Waldman said.
What should Canada be doing to improve its response?
Aiken, who specializes in international refugee law, said for a Canadian to sponsor someone as a refugee, that person has to be formally recognized by the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
鈥淚f you haven鈥檛 gotten that letter from the UNHCR, you can鈥檛 get out the door,鈥� she told CTV News Channel from Kingston, Ont.
In dire situations, such as the Syrian civil war, such a process doesn鈥檛 work, she said. With 1.8 million refugees currently in Turkey, it could take up to two years to get that required documentation.
鈥淐ertainly, if we dropped that requirement, if we were willing to recognize that we were dealing with a crisis right now, we have to have an evacuation plan and we deal with the technicalities later 鈥� especially when there鈥檚 support for the refugees to come to Canada 鈥� that would make a big difference.鈥�
Waldman echoed the sentiment that Canada needs to make changes to its policies, saying the government has had plenty of time to react to the crisis.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 something that鈥檚 new. People have been calling on Canada for almost two years now,鈥� Waldman said.
鈥淭hey have to make a firm commitment and they have to work with the United Nations to identify those refugees who are in most urgent need.鈥�
How have Canadian governments responded to similar crises in the past?
鈥淛ust look at how we responded to Kosovo,鈥� Waldman said, referencing in 1999.
鈥淚 saw people in Kosovo, they were in Canada within three months of Canada announcing they were going to do something,鈥� he said. 鈥淲here there鈥檚 a will, there鈥檚 a way.鈥�
