By David Baxter The federal government is cutting the number of spots available in its refugee humanitarian and permanent residency streams for next year. The updated immigration levels plan released this week shows 49,000 spaces for refugees seeking permanent residency in 2026, down from about 58,000 this year. The Canadian Council for Refugees points out the federal budget also contains a one-time initiative to grant permanent residency to an additional 115,000 protected individuals who are already in Canada. Gauri Sreenivasan, Canadian Council for Refugees co-executive director, said her group sees the new levels plan offering a “mixed result” for refugees. “We have almost 150,000 refugees in the backlog waiting for that signal that Canada is their permanent home, waiting for the opportunity to bring their families,” she said, adding the…
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