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Canadian immigration officials say a predicted wave of refugees from tsunami-ravaged South Asia never materialized, but representatives of those communities say it's because of Canadian government bureaucracy. Thousands of survivors were expected to flock to Canada following the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Thailand.
Only 278 of the 366 permanent resident visas issued were used by survivors to travel here -- well short of the 1,000 cases originally pegged for fast-tracking.
"Many people made the decision to stay at home," said immigration spokesman Stephen Heckbert. "They may have wanted to help rebuild their communities." Immigration officials said starting next month applicants will have to resume paying a $550 visa application fee, which was suspended after the tsunami.
Members of the Sri Lankan community said there are still lineups of people applying to come here who can't obtain visas due to slow processing. Tamil community leader Senthi Chelliah said people from the tsunami-hit areas are desperate to come to Canada.
"The embassy there has been really slow in processing cases," he said 9 June. "There are too many applications outstanding."
Immigration officials added extra staff after the tsunami to fast-track cases at some embassies abroad. The department, in a release, said they responded to more than 2,600 enquiries by e-mail and 8,300 on a hotline following the catastrophe.
