[31 July 2009 by Paula Kline and Rick Goldman in the Gazette] In a series of recent announcements, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has moved to severely restrict access to Canada's asylum system. Canadians, who can be rightfully proud of our strong humanitarian tradition regarding refugees (we were awarded the UN's Nansen Medal in 1986 for the "sustained contribution of the people of Canada to the cause of refugees"), might legitimately ask: Why the flurry of announcements in the dog days of summer? Were we really being overly generous toward refugees? The current government certainly thinks so.

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