apr 26, 1976 - Refugee Changes

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The 20,000 per-country immigration ceilings and the preference system became applied to Western-Hemisphere countries. The separate Hemispheric ceilings were maintained. The separate ceilings for Eastern and Western Hemispheric immigration were combined into one world-wide limit of 290,000. It represented a significant shift in Canadian immigration legislation. It was the first immigration act to clearly outline the fundamental objectives of Canadian immigration policy, define refugees as a distinct class of immigrants and impose a mandatory responsibility on the government to plan for the future of immigration.

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