Providing Protection to the World’s Most Vulnerable
Ottawa, March 27, 2013 — Canada will welcome up to 1,000 additional Bhutanese refugees from Nepal, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.
“”Canada has a longstanding tradition of assisting refugees and welcomes one in 10 refugees resettled globally, more than almost any other country in the world,”” said Minister Kenney. “”We recognize the importance of family reunification in this process, and resettling refugees who already have family in Canada will help them adjust much faster and more easily.””
Bhutanese refugees have been living in seven camps in eastern Nepal since the early 1990s. Canada, along with Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway the United States and the United Kingdom, are resettling many of these refugees.
In May 2007, the Government of Canada announced that it would resettle up to 5,000 Bhutanese refugees over five years. In June 2012, the Government committed to resettling 500 more Bhutanese refugees who have family connections in Canada. Today’s announcement of an additional 1,000 Bhutanese refugees will bring the total number to 6,500. To date, 5,000 have already resettled in Canada.