As Canada brings in people fleeing war in Sudan, families scramble to make the cut

Ashraf alTahir Ahmed worries that if he can't get his elderly parents out of Sudan, they'll die.

The Markham, Ont., man is one of many Sudanese Canadians scrambling to get their relatives to safety under a new federal program for Canadians' family members fleeing Sudan's civil war.

But while millions of Sudanese people have been displaced by the war, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is accepting 3,250 applications, max.

«To tell you the truth, I don't understand the rationale behind [the cap]» Ahmed, president of the Sudanese Canadian Community Association, told guest host Peter Armstrong.

«Looking at the scale of the impact on people, 3,250 is nothing. We appreciate the opportunity from IRCC, but we look at this as a first step.»

Immigration Minister Marc Miller declined an interview request from IRCC spokesperson Jeffrey MacDonald said in an email that intake caps are «standard practice in public policies» and based on a number of factors, including available resources and other available immigration pathways.

Bureaucratic nightmare for families

The new permanent residency pathway, announced last month, came into effect on Tuesday and will last one year. It's open to the children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents or siblings of Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Each application can include one person and their immediate family members.

«Canada will continue to help those in need and uphold our humanitarian traditions as a country,» Miller said in a December statement announcing the program. «This humanitarian pathway will help reunite loved ones and save lives.»

But Huwaida Medani says it's «not a humanitarian program at all.»

The Halifax woman spent all day navigating complex stacks of paperwork