A newly tabled response to an order paper question in the House of Commons shows Canada has barred 111 refugee claimants from protection since 2016 because of alleged involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide — yet only a tiny fraction ever face citizenship revocation or a removal order.

The data, released in response to Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus's written question, breaks down exclusions by fiscal year:

• 2015–16: 4
• 2016–17: 5
• 2017–18: 5
• 2018–19: 9
• 2019–20: 11
• 2020–21: 7
• 2021–22: 12
• 2022–23: 16
• 2023–24: 1
• 2024–25: 17
• 2025–26 (to date): 11

Tally those numbers up, and it gives you a total of 111 claimants barred for their alleged atrocities.

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But here’s where the system falls apart: despite more than a hundred people being excluded over suspected participation in some of the worst crimes on Earth, the federal government reports just four citizenship revocations and 84 removal orders in the same period.

That means dozens of individuals flagged for alleged war crimes have neither had citizenship revoked nor been formally ordered removed.

So why the massive gap?

Ottawa offers a grab-bag of explanations, including bureaucratic delays, withdrawn reports, and — astonishingly — the fact that some of the individuals are simply “allowed to leave” on their own before an admissibility hearing ever happens.

According to the government, some are still awaiting ministerial review or scheduling. Further discrepancies arise because some cases pursue “other forms of enforcement,” while others are deemed “not well-founded” or are withdrawn if a “client” is “allowed to leave.”

In other words: being excluded from refugee protection for suspected war crimes does not guarantee removal, accountability, or even a hearing.