[Dion]

Immigration lawyer Richard Kurland said the only way he sees the Liberal government fulfilling its promise is if Ottawa conducts less-than-thorough security checks. “Twenty-five thousand refugees by Jan. 1 is possible if incomplete security checks for 25,000 people from the Middle East looks like an acceptable risk,” the Vancouver-based lawyer said.

In 1999, Canada initially housed 5,000 refugees from Kosovo at CFB Greenwood in Nova Scotia and CFB Trenton in Ontario. They spent six to eight weeks on bases.

Tom Denton with Hospitality House Refugee Ministry, a pioneer in the resettlement of refugees in Canada, said the paperwork demand for refugees has soared since the Kosovars came here.

“The system has become far more complex. Biometrics are required. Medical examinations are required. Security clearances are required.

“If they want to bring in 25,000 in short order, it would require some very fresh thinking,” he said of the Liberals.

“The [Department of Citizenship and Immigration] is so tied up in its own paperwork they would somehow to have to find a way to bypass all of that stuff in order to bring in numbers like this quickly.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle27075661/