Paying failed refugee claimants to leave Canada didn't work as planned: review

OTTAWA — A government pilot project that essentially paid failed refugee claimants to leave Canada won't be renewed after a scathing internal review.

The program was supposed to save time and money when it came to getting failed refugee claimants out of the country — but appears to have done neither.

The controversial pilot project gave failed claimants between $500 and $2,000 in exchange for their voluntary departure from Canada, and also covered the cost of their plane ticket.

But an internal evaluation of the program found that its rationale — to encourage people to leave, rather than appeal their decisions — was flawed.

And the idea that payments would make removing failed claimants cheaper also didn't bear scrutiny — it actually made it more costly and time-consuming.

The pilot project is scheduled to end in March and a spokesperson for Canada Border Services Agency says the government is committed to finding new ways to remove people from Canada in a cost-effective manner.