Toronto / November 2025
OCASI wrote to Minister Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, urging her to speed up processing for Sudan.
November 27, 2025
Dear Minister Diab,
Re: Speed up processing for Sudan
We are writing to urge you to speed up processing of Sudanese applicants, seeking to flee the violent conflict in Sudan to join family in Canada.
The conflict in Sudan has been met with a disproportionate lack of media coverage in Canada and internationally, and lack of political engagement, despite its devastating severity. According to the United Nations, this is the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with an estimated 150,000 killed and 12 million displaced since the war began in 2023. UN agencies report a cascade of crises across Sudan: starvation, rampant disease, gender-based violence, and widespread trauma, all exacerbated by essential services collapsing under the strain of mass displacement.
We appreciate the government’s efforts to-date to resettle Sudanese individuals and other refugees impacted by the conflict. However we are deeply concerned by the tremendous processing delays highlighted by Sudanese community groups in Canada, and reported in the media.
Canada’s response for those fleeing the crisis in Sudan is the "Family-Based Permanent Residence Pathway," according to the IRCC website. This program is beset by delays. Compounding this issue, applicants must compete for a limited number of spaces outlined in the government's immigration targets. Sudanese Canadians report being told to expect wait times of years, a delay that renders family reunification tragically inaccessible for some, a heartbreaking reality that community members have already experienced.
We urge you to fast-track the processing of Sudanese applications so that those fleeing the crisis can reach safety in Canada more quickly.
Canada's innovative response to the war in Ukraine set a powerful precedent for meeting humanitarian crises. By introducing special measures in 2022 to welcome an unlimited number of Ukrainians - both temporarily and permanently - and by partnering with civil society and the private sector, the government proved its capacity for swift, decisive, and compassionate action.
We urgently call on you to establish a fast-tracked, dedicated pathway for Sudanese applications. In the face of the world's worst humanitarian crisis, Canada must act to ensure those fleeing conflict can reach safety without life-threatening delays.
As the umbrella organization for Ontario’s immigrant and refugee serving sector, OCASI is committed to working with you as a civil society partner in supporting Canada’s response to this newest humanitarian crisis.